State of Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations at the 
End of the Century: A History 



ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS, FACSIMILES 
OF OLD PLATES AND PAINTINGS AND 
PHOTOGRAPHS OF ANCIENT LANDMARKS 



EDITED BY 

EDWARD FIELD, A. B. 



D I u in e 



n e 




The Mason Publishing Company 

BOSTON G> SYRACUSE 
1902 



X 



THE LiBKARY BF 

0«NGRESS, 
Two Copiee Receives 

APR. 29 1902 

COPV(««HT ENTRY 

CLASS i^ XXo. No. 
COPY B. 



Copyrighted 1902 

BY 

The Mason Publishing and Printing Co. 






STATE OF RHODE ISLAND and 
PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS at the 
END OF THE CENTURY A History 



Editor i n Chief 
EDWARD FIELD, A.B. 

Authors 
JOSIAH BROWNE BOWDITCH, CLARENCE SAUNDERS 
BRIGHAM, A. B., CHARLES VALUE CHAPIN, M. D., 
EDWARD FIELD, A. B., WILLIAM EATON FOSTER, 
REV. DANIEL GOODWIN, A. M., ROBERT GRIEVE, 
REV. JAMES HILL NUTTING, A. M., H. PERRY 
SMITH, EDWARD CLINTON STINESS, A. B., LL. B., 
HOWARD KEMBLE STOKES, Ph. D., GEORGE 
GRAFTON WILSON, Ph. D. • : : : : : 

Editors 
JOSHUA M; ADDEMAN, CHARLES P. BENNETT, 
WILLIAM H. T. MOSLEY, HORACE S. TARBELL, LL. D., 
HENRY E. TIEPKE, WILLIAM HOWARD WALKER, 
GEORGE H. WEBB. :::::::: 



Preface 



The present work is submitted to the people of Rhode Iskxnd 
with the hope that it will meet with their approval. 

No attempt has been made since the publication of the History 
of Rhode Island by Hon. Samuel G. Arnold in 1859 to present in 
one work a study of the growth and development of the state. 
Arnold's History concluded with the year 1790, leaving at the 
present time, a period of more than one hundred years of growth, 
regarding which there is no convenient place for reference to the 
historic facts. This work begins with a concise political history of 
the state from its settlement to the end of the nineteenth centur}^ 
written by Clarence Saunders Brigham, A. B., Librarian of the 
Rhode Island Historical Society. This is followed by a series of 
historical monograplis, relating to the various departments into 
which the history of the state has been divided for convenience of 
treatment. These divisions and their arrangement in the volumes 
are as follows : 

Volume I. contains besides the General History of the state, 
written by Mr. Brigham, the Military Histor}^, written by the 
editor-in-chief, under the title, "The Wars and the Militia;" the 
Naval History, written by H. Perry Smith, Esq., under the 
title, "The Sea Force in War-time." 

Volume II. contains the Medical History, written under the 
title, "Epidemics and Medical Institutions," by Charles V. Chapin, 
M. D. ; the Religious History, written under the title, "Religious 
Societies, Their History and Present Condition," by Rev. Daniel 



X Preface. 

Goodwin; the History of Education, written under the title, 
"Growth of Public Education," by H. Perry Smith, Esq. ; the Com- 
mercial History, written under the title, "The Development of the 
Sea Trade," to which is added a division relating to travel and 
transportation, by Robert Grieve, Esq. ; the History of the News- 
papers and such publications, written under the title, "The Printer 
and the Press," by H. Perry Smith, Esq. ; and the History of the 
Public and Semi-public Libraries, written under the title, " The 
Growth of the Library;" that portion of the chapter relating to 
the Providence Libraries being written by William E. Foster, Esq., 
while that portion relating to the other libraries in fhe state is 
written by H. Perry Smith, Esq. 

Volume III. contains the Municipal History of the State, writ- 
ten under the title, " Political Development of the Towns," by 
George Grafton Wilson, Ph. D.; the Judicial History, written un- 
der the title, "The Struggle for Judicial Supremacy," by Edward 
Clinton Stiness, A. B. LL. B.; the Financial History, written un- 
der the title, " Public and Private Finance," by Howard Kemble 
Stokes, Ph. D.; the Histor}" of Manufactures, written under the 
title, "Industrial Development," by Josiah Browne Bowditch, Esq.; 
the History of Public Charities and Corrections, written under the 
title, " The Poor, the Defective and the Criminal," by Rev. James 
Hill Nutting, A. M.; the History of Masonic and Odd Fellows 
Societies, written under the title, " Free-masonry and Odd Fellow- 
ship," by H. Perry Smith, Esq., and a chapter on "Early Habits 
and Customs and Old Landmarks," written by the editor-in-chief. 

In a work of this character where so many hands have con- 
tributed to its growth, delays were numerous and many obstacles 
have been met that have put off its publication long beyond the 
time originally expected, but it is believed that such delays and 
obstacles have contributed to make the work better throughout. 

The illustrative features have been carried out on the plan of 



Preface xi 

introducing as far as possible sucli pictures as have not previously 
been used in similar published woi'ks. 

During the progress of the work some changes were made 
necessary in the personnel of the editorial staff; Hon. Edwin D. 
McGuinness died on the 21st day of April, 1901, and Hon. Wil- 
lard B. Tanner, on account of his absence from the country, was 
obliged to relinquish the work which he expected to do. 

In the editorial work I have been assisted by many persons ; to 
them I desire at this time to express my sincere thanks for their 
many kindnesses, in addition to my private expressions at the time. 
I wish, however, to particularly thank Hon. Horatio Roge-rs, Jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, for many kindly hints 
and words of advice, and also Mr. Fred A. Arnold, Col. Philip S. 
Chase, Mr. George H. Burnham and Mr. Howard W. Preston. To 
the authors and special editors I am indebted for their hearty co- 
operation and assistance. 

From the very inception of the work I have been closely asso- 
ciated with Mr. H. Perry Smith, representing the Mason Publish- 
ing and Printing Company, the publishers and promoters of this 
history, and I take this Opportunity to testif}^ to his unflagging 
zeal and deep interest in the work which has come particularly 

under his care. 

Edward Field. 
Providence, R. L, February 24, 1902. 



Contents 



CHAPTER I. 
Early Voyages and the Indians 3-15 

CHAPTER II. 
The Puritans and Roger Williams 15-28 

CHAPTER III. 

The Founding of Providence 29-39 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Antinomians and Aquedneck 40-57 

CHAPTER V. 

Samuel Gorton and the Founding op Warwick 57-72 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Obtaining of the First Charter, 1639-47 73-85 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Period of the First Charter, 1648-63 85-102 

CHAPTER VIII. 
From the Charter of 1663 to King Philip's War 102-122 

CHAPTER IX. 

From King Philip's War to the Coming of Andros 122-142 

CHAPTER X. 
Andros and the Royal Governors, 1686-1701 143-161 



xiv Contents 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Administration of Governor Cranston 161-175 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Period of Paper Money and Foreign Wars 176-192 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Hopkins- Ward Period 193-219 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Period of Colonial Resistance 219-226 

CHAPTER XV. 

Rhode Island in the Revolution 227-248 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Struggle for the Constitution 248-272 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The Administration of the Penners, 1790-1811 272-295 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Period from 1820 to 1830 296-318 

CHAPTER XIX. 

From 1830 to the Dorr War 318-334 

CHAPTER XX. 
The Dorr War and Its Results 335-352 

CHAPTER XXI. 

From the Dorr War to the Civil War 353-375 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Last Four Decades 375-392 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

The Wars and the Militia 393-530 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Sea Force in War Time 531-627 



Illustrations 



Indian Wampum and Stone Implements Found in Rhode Island 12 

Slate Rock and Seekonk River 25 

Governor William Coddington (portrait) 52 

Title Page of Gorton's "Simplicities Defence" 63 

Title Page of Roger Williams's Answer to George Fox 118 

Whitehall, the Residence of Bishop Berkeley in Middletown 178 

The Home of John Wanton, Son of Governor Gideon Wanton, at 

Newport 200 

Hopkins House, Situated on Hopkins Street, Providence 207 

Fac Simile of General Nathanael Greene's Oath of Allegiance to the 

United States 239 

Ellery House, Newport 243 

Fac Simile of Nathanael Greene's Acceptance of the Appointment of 

Quartermaster-General 245 

Washington Square, Newport, in 1818 255 

Map of the State of Rhode Island, by Caleb Harris, 1795 270 

Coronation Rock, Charlestown 281 

Map of the Town of Providence in 1823, by Daniel Anthony 310 

Pawtuxet Cove, Looking Toward the North 373 

Providence from the Spire of the First Baptist Meeting House 382 

City Hall, Providence 384 

Rhode Island State House 391 

Updyke House, near Wickford 407 

Greene's Stone Castle 409 

Monument at the Scene of Pierce's Fight 410 

Arms Used by Rhode Island Soldiers in Various Wars 424 

Robin Hill Fort 448 

Fort Independence, Field's Point, Providence 450 

Fort on Hog Pen Point 451 

Fort on Tonomy ( Beacon ) Hill 453 

Fort on the Island of Conanicut 454 



xvi Illustrations. 

A Corner of Butt's Hill Fort, Portsmouth 456 

The Sabin Tavern, Providence 460 

Capt. Joseph Tillinghast ( portrait) 463 

Fac Simile of Governor Wanton's Proclamation for the Apprehension 

OF THE "GaSPEE" CONSPIRATORS 466 

Gen. William Barton (portrait) 471 

Medal Struck in Commemoration of the British Occupancy of R. 1 472 

Fac Simile of Order Issued to William Barton, Resulting in the Pres- 

COTT Expedition 474 

OvEEiNG House, Middletown 476 

David Arnold Tavern, Old Warwick 478 

The Bannister House, Newport 482 

Gardiner House, Old Warwick 492 

Bliss Hill Fort, Green End, Middletown 495 

Hall House, near Bristol Ferry, Portsmouth TOO 

Flag Carried by Angell's Second Rhode Island Regiment 507 

The Vernon House, Newport 509 

Fac Simile of Proclamation Issued during the Dorr War 515 

First R. I. Infantry in the Spanish War Passing City Hall, Provi- 
dence 525 

Model of the U. S. Frigate Washington 598 

EsEK Hopkins, Commander-in-Chief of the American Navy during the 

Revolution ( portrait) 605 

One of the Guns Captured by Esek Hopkins at New ProVidence . . . 609 

The Hopkins House, Providence 615 

Oliver Hazard Perry, Commodore U. S. Navy (portrait) 619 

The Judge Freeman Perry Homestead Premises 622 

Parade op Rhode Island U. S. Naval Volunteers, Newport, July 4, 

1898 624 



History of the State of 
Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations. 



CHAPTER I. 

EARLY VOYAGES AND THE INDIANS. 

If we are willing to rely upon documents, chiefly based on tradi- 
tion, we can assert that the first white people to set foot on the shores 
of lower New England were the hardy Norsemen of the tenth 
century. In the year 875 A. D. a body of Norwegians, under Ingolf, 
started a settlement in Iceland, and Avithin half a century a promising 
colony of nearly 70,000 inhabitants was established almost under the 
Arctic circle. By the end of the tenth century many had emigrated to 
Greenland, where they founded a new settlement and introduced 
Christianity. In the year 986, according to the sagas,^ one Bjarni 
Herjulfson, in sailing from Iceland to Greenland, was driven far out 
of his course by stress of Aveather, and on his return to his native land, 
reported that he had come upon a strange country, aAvay to the soutli- 
Avest. Fourteen years later Leif, son of Eric, sailed from Greenland 
in quest of the land seen by Bjarni. He found a barren shore stretch- 
ing back to ice-covered mountains, and on account of the slaty rock 
there called the region Helluland. Proceeding farther south, they 
came to a level territory, Avith a sandy shore lying near the water, and 
inland a forest country, because of which it Avas named Markland. 
Again sailing southerly, in tAVO days they came to an island AA^hich lay 
to the eastAvard of the mainland. Proceeding beyond this farther 
south and Avesterly, they finally ascended a river and brought the ship 
to anchor in a large lake, on the shores of Avhich they built huts to 
lodge in for the Avinter. Leif sent out many exploring parties, and 

^The text of these sagas are given in full in Danish, Icelandic, and Latin 
in Rafn, Antiquitates Americanae. The most important of them are given 
in English in E. B. Slafter, Voyages of the Northmen; B. F. De Costa, Pre- 
Columbian Discovery; and in E. Horsford, Discovery of America by the 
Norsemen. There are bibliographies of the subject of Norse exploration in 
the Library Journal, vi, 259; R. B. Anderson, Ame7-ica not discovered by 
Columbus ; 1883 ed.; F. W. Horn, Hist, of the lit. of the Scandinavian North, 
p. 413; and in E. B. Slafter, Voyages of the Northmen, p. 127. There is an 
excellent critical summary of the subject in Winsor, Narrative and Critical 
History, i, 87. 



•4 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

on one of these an abundance of grapes was found, which inducetl 
him to call the country Vinland. 

During: the present century numerous attempts have been made to 
identify the Vinland thus mentioned in Leif 's voyage and in a few 
subsecjuent expeditions, with various spots on our eastern coast. 
Judging- by the inexact accounts of the directions in sailing, bythe very 
general descriptions of the country, and by the length of the shortest 
day in Vinland, writers have placed this almost mythological locality 
all the way from Labrador to North Carolina. The first advocate to 
identify the region surrounding Narragansett and Mount Hope Bays 
as the site of the ancient Vinland was Carl Christian Rafn. an eminent 
Danish scholar, Avho, in 1837, published his Antiquitatcs Americanar, 
containing a mass of original Norse documents, with comments and 
conclusions respecting them. He averred that the river opening into 
a lal\e was the Pocasset River flowing from Mount Hope Bay: recon- 
ciled the descriptions of climate and of native inhabitants to what he 
knew of the climate and aborigines of southern New England, found 
Norse linguistic elements entering into the composition of many 
Indian names, and by a delightfully convenient interpretation of 
language, represented that the shortest winter day of Vinland meant 
41 degrees 30 minutes— the latitude of NeAvport. He also attempted 
to show that the stone toAver now standing at Newport was the worlc of 
Northmen, and inserts a description of certain I'oclxs situated in Tiver- 
ton and Portsmouth Grove. The above conclusions, with many others 
not relating to Rhode Island, soon became the theme of fruitless dis- 
cussion throughout the country. Many writei-s, some of high historical 
ability, came to widely differing judgments respecting this shadowy 
locality,^ until finally the best scholars realized that the descriptions 
of the sagas were too general and too contradictory to be relied upon. 
The attempt to adduce monumental evidence in the form of archaeo- 
logical remains and runic inscriptions have invariably brought ridicule 
upon these pretended discoveries. "When a man brings forward that 
which is impossible to support a thing that is improbable, he is liable 
to somewhat weahen his claim. Scarcely had Professoi- Rafn's article 
attributing a Norse origin to the old mill appeared, when his views 
were speedily controverted, and the structure was clearly shown to 
bave been Avhat Newport people had always supposed — a wind-mill 

'Among those who favored Rafn's identification of Rhode Island as Vin- 
land were Haven, Archaeology of the U. .S'., 1856; Gravier. Devon verte de 
VAmeriqae. 1874; Goodrich, Christopher Columbus. 1874; Anderson, America 
not discovered by Columbus, 1874; and Farnum.Vistis of the Northmen to 
R. I., 1877. 



Early Voyages and the Indians. ^ 5 

built by Governor Arnold about 1676/ In like manner the Tiverton 
and Portsmouth rocks, so carefully described in Raf n 's volume, proved 
to be covered with Indian rather than Norse inscriptions, perhaps 
made by the same tribe that cut those on Dighton rock.- There is not 
the slightest archaeological evidence existing in Rhode Island or in 
New England to prove that the Northmen ever visited our coast. Ban- 
croft 's statement, made in 1834, that "the soil of the United States has 
not one vestige of their presence"^ is just as true to-day as when first 
written. The most that we can safely assert is that, according to 
historical tradition, the Northmen visited several points in the eastern 
coast of America ; but that we can identify the locality of any one of 
these visits is not proved by any documents yet adduced. 

The first European to set foot on the shores of what is now Rhode 
Island, was probably a French navigator, named Verrazano. A 
Florentine by birth, in 1521 he begins to appear in Spanish history 
as a French corsair, under the name of Juan Florin. Gaining the 
notice of the French king, he was commissioned to set out on the dis- 
covery of Cathay by a Avestward route, and after a somewhat dis- 
astrous start, finally proceeded on his voyage with one ship, the Dau- 
phine. In this vessel Verrazano sailed, January 17, 1524, from the 
Desiertas Rocks, near the Island of Maderia, having fifty men and 
provisions for eight months. After a voyage of about fifty days 
he came in sight of land, the latitude of which he placed as 34 degrees 
N. On approaching the land, which appeared to be inhabited, he 
sailed south fifty leagues in search of a harbor ; but finding none, 
turned and coasted along the shore to the north. For several days 
Verrazano 's narrative* carries him steadily northward, carefully 

^All the facts concerning the structure are given in C. T. Brooks's Con- 
troversy touching the old stone mill, 1851, and are well summed up in Pal- 
frey, New England, i, 57. See also G. C. Mason in Mag. Anier. Hist., iii, 541. 
Professor Rafn never saw the tower himself, but relied upon letters written 
to him by Dr. Thomas H. Webb, and published with comments in a supple- 
ment to the Antiq. Amer. in 1841. In 1847 there was perpetrated in the 
Providence papers a remarkable hoax concerning the tower, the details of 
which are given in Mr. Brooks's pamphlet. 

=When Dr. S. A. Green visited the region in 1868, some of these rocks had 
disappeared. See Proc. Amer. Antiq. Soc. for Oct. 1868, p. 13. 

^Bancroft, United States, iii, 313. 

*His narrative is contained in two Italian translations of a letter written 
by him to the king of France, July 8, 1524, on his return from the voyage. 
One was printed by Ramusio in 1556, English translations being given in the 
Hakluyt Society's editions of Hakluyt, Voyages, p. 55, and Principal Naviga- 
tions, iii, 357; and in N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. i, 45. The other was first printed 
in the N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. 2d ser., i, 37; an English translation is in the 
same volume and also in Asher, Henry Hudson, p. 197, H. C. Murphy, Ver- 
razano, and C. Robinson, Discoveries, p. 303. 



6 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

describing the coast and relating many interesting encounters with 
the Indians, until he finally comes to anchor in a large bay, which, 
from his description, is evidently New York Harbor. After a short 
stay here and on Long Island, he proceeds on his course. But let him 
tell the story in his own words. 

"Weighing anchor, we sailed fifty leagues toward the east, as the 
coast stretched in that direction, and always in sight of it ; at length 
we discovered an island of a triangular form, about ten leagues from 
the mainland, in size about equal to the island of Rhodes, having many 
hills covered with trees, and well peopled, judging from the great num- 
ber of fires which we saw all round its shores ; we gave it the name of 
your Majesty's illustrious mother. 

"We did not land there, as the weather was unfavorable, but pro- 
ceeded to another place, fifteen leagues distant from the island, where 
we found a very excellent harbour. Before entering it, we saw about 
twenty small boats full of people, who came about our ship, uttering 
cries of astonishment, but they would not approach nearer than fifty 
paces ; stopping, they looked at the structure of our ship, our persons 
and dress, afterwards they all raised a loud shout together, signifying 
that they were pleased. . . . Among them were two kings, more 
beautiful in form and stature than can possibly be described ; one was 
about forty years old, the other about twenty-four. . . . This is 
the finest looking tribe, and the handsomest in their costumes, that we 
have found in our voyage. They exceed us in size, and they are of a 
very fair complexion [ ?] ; some of them incline more to a white 
[bronze?], and others to a tawny colour; their faces are sharp, their 
hair long and black, upon the adorning of which they bestow great 
pains ; their eyes are black and sharp, their expression mild and 
pleasant, greatly resembling the antique. . . . We formed a great 
friendship with them, and one day we entered into the port with our 
ship, having before rode at a distance of a league from the shore, as 
the weather was adverse. They came off to the ship with a number of 
little boats, with their faces painted in divers colours, showing us real 
signs of joy, bringing us of their provisions, and signifying to us 
where we could best ride in safety with our ship, and keeping with us 
until we had cast anchor. We remained among them fifteen days. 

"We often went five or six leagues into the interior, and found the 
country as pleasant as is possible to conceive, adapted to cultivation of 
every kind, whether of corn, wine or oil ; there are open plains twenty- 
five or thirty leagues in extent, entirely free from trees or other hin- 
drances, and of so great fertility, that whatever is sown there will yield 
an excellent crop. On entering the woods, we observed that they 
might all be traversed by an army ever so numerous ; the trees of 
which they were composed were oaks, cypresses, and others unknown 
in Europe. We found also apples, plums, filberts, and many other 



Early Voyages and the Indians. 7 

fruits, but all of a different kind from ours. The animals, which are 
in great numbers, as stags, deer, lynxes, and many other species, are 
taken by snares and by bows, the latter being their chief implement ; 
their arrows are wrought with great beauty, and for the heads of them 
they use emery, jasper, hard marble and other sharp stones, in the 
place of iron. They also use the same kind of sharp stones in cutting 
down trees, and with them they construct their boats of single logs, 
hollowed out wdth admirable skill, and sufficiently commodious to con- 
tain ten or twelve persons ; their oars are short, and broad at the end, 
and are managed in rowing by force of the arms alone, with perfect 
security, and as nimbly as they choose. We saw their dwellings, 
which are of a circular form, of about ten or twelve paces in circumfer- 
ence, made of logs split in halves, without any regularity of architec- 
ture, and covered with roofs of straw, nicely put on, which protect 
them from wind and rain. There is no doubt that they would build 
stately edifices if they had workmen as skilful as ours, for the whole 
sea coast abounds in shining stones, crystals and alabaster, and for the 
same reason it has ports and retreats for animals. They change their 
habitations from place to place as circumstances of situation and sea- 
son may require ; this is easily done, as they have only to take with 
them their mats, and they have other houses prepared at once. The 
father and the whole family dwell together in one house in great num- 
bers ; in some we saw twenty-five or thirty persons. Their food is 
pulse, as with the other tribes, which is here better than elsewhere, and 
more carefully cultivated ; in the time of sowing they are governed by 
the moon, the sprouting of grain, and many other ancient usages. 
They live by hunting and fishing, and they are long-lived. If they 
fall sick, they cure themselves without medicine, by the heat of the fire, 
and their death at last comes from extreme old age. We judge them 
to be very affectionate and charitable towards their relatives, making 
loud lamentations in their adversity, and in their misery calling to 
mind all their good fortune. At their departure out of life, their 
relations mutually join in weeping, mingled with singing, for a long 
while. This is all we could learn of them. 

"This region is situated in the parallel of Rome, being 41 degrees 
40 minutes of north latitude, but nuich colder from accidental circum- 
stances and not by nature, as I shall hereafter explain to your Majesty, 
and confine myself at present to the description of its local situation. 
It looks toward the south, on which side the harbour is half a league 
broad ; afterwards, upon entering it, the extent between the coast and 
north is twelve leagues, and then enlarging itself it becomes a very 
large bay, twenty leagues in circumference, in which are five small 
islands, of great fertility and beauty, covered with large and lofty 
trees. Among these islands any fleet, however large, might ride safely, 
without fear of tempest or other dangers. Turning towards the 
south, at the entrance of the harbour, on both sides, there are very 



8 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

pleasant hills, and many streams of clear water, which flow down to 
the sea. In the midst of the entrance, there is a rock of freestone, 
formed by nature, and suitable for the construction of any kind of 
machine or bulwark for the defense of the harbour. ' '^ 

The above description, as we can clearly see, applies to Newport 
Harbor and Narragansett Bay. The triangular island which he first 
saw and named Luisa in honor of the mother of Francis I, was Block 
Island, which appears under this name in the maps of many subse- 
quent voyagers. Its interior is hilly, and at that time was covered 
with thick woods, which have long ago disappeared on account of the 
necessity for fuel. The bay itself is fairly well described by one who 
saw it for the first time and who penned his Avhole narration from 
memory. The latitude as given is practically correct, which, coupled 
with the fact that the bay looked toward the south, insures the iden- 
tification of the position. The rock at the entrance of the harbor is 
evidently meant for Goat Island, long since put to the use which 
Verrazano had so prophetically suggested. His description of the 
manners and habits of the Indians is consistent throughout, and tallies 
to a remarkable degree, as we shall later perceive, with the writings of 
colonial observers. Their "tawny" complexion, the taking of wild 
animals in snares, the hollowing of logs for canoes, their circular 
dwellings, their migratory habits according to season, and the method 
of curing disease by the fire's heat — all are peculiarities of the Narra- 
gansetts which we find mentioned in like manner by Roger Williams 
over a century later. Finally, we should remember what some detract- 
ors of Verrazano^ have failed to recognize— that the account was writ- 
ten at Dieppe on his return from the voyage. 

Although we have no record that any other early voyager touched 
at Rhode Island as did Verrazano, yet Narragansett Bay, with its wide 
mouth and beautiful harbor, appears on many of the first maps of the 
New England coast. In nearly all of them, from 1527 to the close of 
the century, it is called the "Bay of St. Juan Baptist", although 

W. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. 2d ser., i, 46-49. 

^The narrative was generally credited until about twenty-five years ago, 
when Buckingham Smith and H. C. Murphy, in their desire to refute every- 
thing that detracted from the claims of Spanish voyagers, attacked its 
authenticity. Its genuineness was quickly asserted by several prominent 
scholars, the researches of B. F. De Costa and his bringing to light the Verra- 
zano map doing much to re-establish general credence in the voyage. Subse- 
quent writers, with scarcely an exception of note, have not questioned the 
narrative. The Verrazano map, hitherto unknown in complete form, was 
first published in Mag. Amer. Hist, ix, 449. It is also in De Costa's Verra- 
zano, together with a bibliography and comments on the letter and voyage. 



Early Voyages and the Indians. 9 

Verranzo and one other cartologist term it the "Bay of Refuge".^ 
The Narragansett region was known by these names untjl the advent 
of the Dutch into the field of American exploration./Cln 1614, five 
years after Hudson had discovered the river that bears his name, 
Adriaen Block built a little vessel of sixteen tons and proceeded to 
explore the coast to the eastward as far as Cape Cod.- Passing 
through Long Island Sound and leaving Montauk Point, he nexl 
visited the little three cornered island which Verrazano had seen and 
named. This he called "Block Eylandt", which, although the legal 
name is New Shoreham, survives in common use to this day. Follow- 
ing the path of Verrazano, the Dutch captain entered Narragansett^ 
Bay, which from its noble proportions he called "Nassau Bay". The 
western entrance was named "Sloop Bay", and the eastern "Anchor 
Bay". The inhabitants Block described as being "strong of limb and 
of moderate size, but somewhat shy, since they are not accustomed to 
trade with strangers". In the lower part of the bay dwelt the Wape- 
nocks, while on the west side were the Nahicans, with their chiefs, 
Nathattow and Cachaquant. The Dutch captain went carefully into 
an account of distances and soundings. Nassau Bay was full nine 
miles in width and extended east-northeast about twenty-four miles. 
"Towards the northwest side there is a sandy point with a small 
island, bearing east and west, and bending so as to form a handsome 
bay with a sandy bottom. On the right of the sandy point there is 
more than two fathoms of water, and farther on three and three and 
a half fathoms, with a sharp bottom, where lies a small island of red- 
dish appearance.^ . . . From the westerly passage into this bay 
of Nassau to the most southerly entrance of Anchor Bay, the distance 
is twenty-one miles." 

The Dutch names in Rhode Island influenced all the map-makers, 
and are found on the charts until the end of the century, when they 
were supplanted by those of English origin.* The names originally 

'See B. F. De Costa's article on "Cabo de Arenas" in N. E. Hist, and 
Geneal. Reg. xxxix, 147. 

^Blocli's voyage is described in De Laet, Nieutve Werelclt, English trans- 
lations being found in N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. 2d ser., i, 293. A map prepared 
probably from Block's data and known as the "Figurative Map" was made in 
1614, fac-similes being given in Doc. rel. to Col. Hist, of N. Y. i, 13, and in 
O'Callaghan's Hist, of Neio Netfierland. 

''This little island ("een rodtlich Eylandken") was propbably Hope Island, 
the only island lying near the "extremity of a sandy point jutting from the 
western side. At any rate, the description applied originally to a small 
island situated in the western part of the bay, and not to Aquedneck, as has 
been generally supposed. 

*This subject of the early cartology of Narragansett Bay has never been 
mentioned by any historian of the State, either in connected works or in 



10 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 

applied to localities by the Indians were seldom recognized by the 
early settlers, who preferred the more easily pronounceable ones of 
their own tongue. 

Unlike the colonists at Massachusetts Bay, the early settlers of 
Rhode Island planted themselves in a region which was not depop- 
ulated of its former inhabitants by pestilence and war, but which 
contained a tribe that were accounted "the most potent princes and 
people of all the country". The Narragansetts^ belonged to the 
family of Algonquins, a great race whose territory extended all the 
way from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Savannah. A difference 
in dialect forms the basis of dividing the New England tribes into 
those of Maine and those of southern New England. Around the 
Narragansetts dwelt the Massachusetts on the northeast, the Wam- 
panoags in the Plymouth and Mount Hope region, and the Pequots 
and Mohegans in Connecticut. The language of all these neighboring 
tribes differed but little, and there was considerable affinity in speech 
throughout the whole Algonquin group. ^ It is useless to attempt here 
any mention of the various guesses as to the origin of these tribes — 
whether they descended from the Jews or the Greeks or the Norse, 
Little more is known to-day than when Roger Williams wrote, ''Prom 
Adam and Noah that they spring is granted on all hands." A sub- 
ject more profitable to us and decidedly more vital to our ancestors 
was the question as to their numbers. The fortunes of war and other 
circumstances had rendered the Narragansetts the most numerous and 
powerful of the New England tribes. General Gookin, writing in 
1674, said that "the Narragansetts were reckoned, in former times, 
able to arm for war more than five thousand men", and a safe estimate 

monographs, and is yet to be adequately treated. Much information regard- 
ing the Dutch nomenclature can be found in Asher's Bibliographical Essay on 
New Netherlaiid. The many early navigators, like the Zenos, Gomez, Rut, 
and Champlain, who may have coasted along the New England shores, but 
are not known to have visited Narragansett Bay, are not referred to in this 
chapter. A connected account of the early cartography of Massachusetts 
Bay by Justin Winsor, is in Memorial Hist, of Boston, i, 37. 

^Our chief knowledge of the Narragansetts and their mode of life is 
derived from Williams's Key to the Indian Language, 1643; reprinted as v. i 
of the R. I. Hist. Soc. Coll. and again as v. i. of the Narragansett Chib edition 
of Williams's writings. In addition to the books mentioned in the bibliography 
at the end of this work, the following references are of value: Arnold, Hist, 
of R. I., i, 72; Palfrey, Hist, of N. E., i, 19; Bull's Memoir of R. I., in R. I. 
Hist. Mag., v. 6; and Filling's Bibliography of the Algonquin languages, 
p. 371. 

20ur chief authorities for the dialects in New England are Roger Wil- 
iams's Indian Key, John Eliot's Indiati Grammar, and Josiah Cotton's Indian 
Vocabulary. 



Early Voyages and the Indians. 11 

Avoiild place the number at fully two thousand at the beginning of the 
English settlement here. All the lesser tribes in Rhode Island were 
subsidiary to or formed a portion of the Narragansetts — the Aqued- 
necks^ on the island of that name, the Nyantics- in the eastern half 
of the present "Washington county, the Cowesetts of Greenwich and 
Shawmuts of Warwick, and the wandering Nipmucs in the northwest- 
ern part of the State. The Massachusetts and Wampanoags^ paid 
them tribute, as did also the Montauk Indians of Long Island. Such 
was this great tribe at the time of the arrival of the English. By the 
aid of the newcomers, the tributary tribes, with the Wampanoags in 
the van, started to throw off the yoke, and the gradual decay of this 
once proud nation began. 

The Narragansett tribe, like all other New England aborigines, 
stood low in the scale of civilization. Their mode of living was of the 
rudest kind. Their houses, or wigwams, were round cone-shaped 
structures, formed of poles set in a circle and drawn nearly together 
at the top, leaving a hole to serve for both window and chimney. They 
were covered without and lined within with mats and skins, and were 
furnished with little besides the rudest utensils of earthenware. 
Everything was put together with the idea of being easily taken down, 
as they removed their habitation at nearly every change of season, the 
whole process of removal and rebuilding frequently taking but a few 
hours. Their dress was as simple as that of an African savage, merely 
a girdle around the loins, and occasionally a mantle of skin for winter 
use. 

For food the Indians had fish and game, nuts, roots and wild 
berries. They raised a few uncultivated vegetables, such as squashes, 
beans and corn, the last of which, when pulverized and boiled, formed 
their staple article of food. Nearly all the natives took tobacco, some- 
times as a medicine and again as a luxury. The chief occupation of 
the men was hunting and fishing, in which they were very proficient. 
Fish were taken on lines with hooks of sharpened bone, or else in nets. 
Although the natives were very accurate in their use of the bow and 
arrow, they took many of the wild animals in cleverly laid traps, and 

'Aquedneck formerly belonged to the Wampanoags, and passed under the 
Narragansetts probably at the time of the subjection of Massasoit. Tradition 
still points out the place where the contest for supremacy occurred, and also 
the residence of the Aquedneck sachem, Wonnumetonomy. See Bull's 
Memoir in R. I. Hist. Mag. vi, 252. 

^For historical notes on this tribe, see Parsons's "Indian Relics" in Hist. 
Mag. vii, 41. 

^See W. J. Miller, Notes concerning the Wampanoag tribe of Indians. 



12 



State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 



even captured fowl by stealing them from their nests on the rocks 
during the night. Having no salt, they preserved their meat by a 
process of tanning, which doubtless did much to bring forth from 
Roger "Williams the appellation of "filthy, smoakie holes" to their 
wigwams. 

Their inventive skill and knowledge of the arts was of the lowest 




Indian Wampum and Stone Implements Found in Rhode Island. 
From the collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 

grade, all of their tools being of stone until after the arrival of the 
English. Axes, chisels, gouges, arrow and spear heads, were brought 
to a sharp edge by constant friction upon hard stone. They also 
fashioned pestles, mortars, and ornamental pipes. They showed the 
most constructive skill, outside of the weaving of cordage, baskets and 



Early Voyages and the Indians. 13 

mats, ill the hollowing of logs into canoes. This was clone by an 
alternate system of charring and gouging, and it is said that a single 
Indian could finish a long boat of this kind in three weeks time from 
the felling of the tree. To the English the most useful Indian art 
was the manufacture of wampum-peage, or Indian money, of which 
the Narragansetts Avere the principal coiners. It consisted of cylin- 
drical pieces of black and Avhite shell, drilled through the center to be 
strung upon threads like beads. For a long period after the first set- 
tlement this was the currency of the colonists themselves, the white 
being accepted at six pieces to the penny, and the black at three pieces. 
By the Indians wampum was also used as an ornament, serving as 
necklaces, bracelets and girdles. 

The natives were described by Koger AA^illiams as of two sorts — the 
most of thein sober and grave, yet cheerful, a few rude and clownish. 
He accords to them the greatest att'ection in their households, even to 
unwise indulgence. Although no fixed custom forbade polygamy, the 
Indian generally had but one wife. While she remained in his cabin, 
she was his drudge and his slave, doing all the household work and 
planting, tending and harvesting the corn. Every English traveller 
noted especially the rude hospitality of the savages. They invited 
strangers freely, gave up their OAvn comforts for the sake of their 
guests, and never forgot a sei^viee rendered. The proportion of deaths 
at infancy Avas larger than among the English, owing to their igno- 
rance of medicine. Their chief treatment for disease was a sweat bath, 
followed by a plunge into cold water. If death ensued from sickness, 
the neighbors indulged in loud lamentations, and often smeared their 
faces thick with soot. The burial service was e(|ually accompanied by 
free indulgence in grief. The corpse, wrapped in mats and accom- 
panied by personal effects, was placed in the grave, and often some 
article of clothing Avas hung upon a nearby tree, there to decay from 
the influence of time and Aveather. If any man bore the name of the 
dead, he immediately changed his name; and so far Ava.s this idea car- 
ried, that if one tribe named a warrior after the departed sachem of 
another tribe, it Avas held as a just cause of war. 

The religion of the Narragansetts Avas one of the earlier foi-ms of 
nature Avorship. They imagined that ev(My natural object, phenome- 
non of nature, and locality, contained a god. Roger Williams counted 
thirty-seven of these deities, all of Avhoni in their acts of Avorship they 
invocated. All unnatural circumstances in their life — sickness, 
drought, Avar, famine — they ascribed to the anger of certain gods. 
Gathered together in great assemblies they strove, with loud bcAvailing 



/ 



14 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

and outcry to make atonement, and implored health, peace and pros- 
perity. Their doctrine of immortality was similar to that of other 
barbarian nations. They believed that the sonls of the good went to 
the southwest, the abode of their great god, Cautantouwit, whereas 
the sonls of murderers, thieves and liars wandered restlessly abroad. 

Not belonging to an advanced scale of civilization, the Narragan- 
setts did not require intricate political institutions. There is no evi- 
dence to show that they ever posvsessed any code of laws or any set of 
customs having the force of legal obligation. Their government was 
monarchical, tlie supreme leadership being vested in the sachem. Un- 
der him were several lower sachems, who paid him tribute and voiced 
the action of their particular followings. We do not know how the 
chief sachem was chosen ; heredity was certainly a qualification for 
oi¥ice, although unpopularity or incompetence Avould have outAveighed 
this. Not being vested with the accompaniments of power, the sachem" 
was dependent for the carrying out of his will upon the acquiescence 
of the people, and accordingly seldom took action upon important 
matters until he had heard the opinion of the people expressed through 
the great council. There was that same confusion of judicial and 
executive powers common to barbarian nations, which enacted that the 
sachem should punish most crimes with his own hand. Assassination, 
however, was sometimes tried, where a public execution might provoke 
a mutiny. 

The social side of life appealed very little to the savage's unemo- 
tional and irresponsive mind. Gambling with dice and occasional 
games of football were about the only sports to which he was addicted. 
He had none of the comforts or luxuries of life, and even after he had 
acquired knowledge of them, he rejected everything that involved a 
change in his manner of living. Continually dwelling in the midst 
of evils which he had no desire to alleviate, the Indian cultivated a 
sullen fortitude under suffering which is often called stoicism. This 
brave endurance of torture, however stolid and scenic it may be, is 
one of the brighter parts of his character. His vices far outnum- 
bered his virtues. Whether through association with the English, Avho 
schemed to displace them and get possession of their land, or through 
natural degradation, the Narragansetts inspired in the breast of their 
friend Roger Williams great distrust as he began to know them better. 
Begging, gluttony and drunkenness were undoubtedly acquired 
through contact with the settlers, but craftiness and falsehood seem 
always to have been present in their character. In the latter part of 
his life, after he had received personal experience of their duplicity, 



The Puritans and Roger Williams. 15 

he says, "All Indians are extremely treacherous". While recognizing 
the better qualities of the more worthy, he describes the lower Indians 
as wallo^ving in idleness, stealing, lying, treachery and blasphemy. 
The methods employed so often by the English to incite them to tribal 
warfare and to get possession of their lands cannot be too severely 
condemned ; yet that so degraded a nation should live side by side with 
a people favored with all the comforts and advantages of a modern 
civilization is as undesirable as it is impossible. The fittest must sur- 
vive. 



CHAPTER II. 
THE PURITANS AND ROGER WILLIAMS. 

When Roger Williams arrived at Massachusetts Bay in the ship 
Lyon in 1631, he found New England in the beginnings of settlement. 
The whole territory, now so populous, was then little more than a 
primeval wdlderness, whose silence was broken only by the voice of the 
savage, and the cry of the wild beast. Eleven years before, a little 
band of non-conformists, exiled from England into Holland, had 
resolved to emigrate to America, and, securing a grant from the 
Virginia Company, had embarked from Plymouth, England, on one 
vessel, the Mayflower. In December, 1620, they arrived off Cape Cod 
and began a settlement at Plymouth. Basing their form of govern- 
ment on a political compact formed in the cabin of the Mayflower, and 
entering into a communal system of sharing work and supplies, they 
began their infant settlement. During the first few years the little 
colony barely survived the hardships of famine and the attacks of the 
Indians, but by the time of Roger Williams's arrival had increased its 
number to over three hundred people. 

To the north of the Plymouth Colony was the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony. This was the outcome of a small fishing settlement begun 
by John White, a rector from Dorchester, at Cape Ann, and removed 
to Salem in 1626. Two years later it was augmented by a party of 
emigrants under John Endicott, who had obtained a patent from the 
Council of New England granting them all land between lines three 
miles to the north of the Merrimac and three miles to the south of the 
Charles. These men formed the nucleus of a colony to which, in 1629, 



16 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Charles I granted a royal charter, styling the proprietors "the Gov- 
ernor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England". In 
1630 the government of the company was moved to America, and over 
a thousand new emigrants, under "Winthrop, Dudley, Higginson and 
Skelton, came over and founded Charlestown, Cambridge, Roxbury, 
Watertown and Boston. Beyond a few fishing villages scattered 
along the coast to the northward, there were no other settlements in 
New England at the time of Roger Williams's arrival. 

In order to understand the motives that brought about the trouble 
with Roger Williams, it is necessary to have a clear idea of the relig- 
ious policy of the Puritan commonwealth — of the procession of events 
that brought about this great theocracy. It should be observed that 
the Pilgrims who had left England for Holland and had emigrated 
thence to found the Plymouth Colony were Separatists, or those who 
objected to the "idolatrous rites" of the established church and ended 
in founding congregations of their own. One of their principles was 
that the state had no right to punish for ecclesiastical censures, as they 
were spiritual, and also had no authority to inflict temporal punish- 
ment for such censures. For this reason the "Old Colony", as it was 
called, throughout its whole history treated theological disturbers with 
comparative mildness, and often, indeed, served as an asylum for those 
whom the Bay Colony had found it expedient to do without. The 
colonists who settled the towns around Massachusetts Bay, however, 
had never separated themselves from the established church, but were 
merely unwilling to conform to the ceremonies of the church. They 
were called non-conformists, although some of them conformed to the 
particular ceremonies under protest rather than endure the appointed 
penalties. Their first concern, upon coming to the new country, Avas 
the formation of their churches. In 1629 one was organized at Salem, 
in which Skelton and Higginson were the ministers — the former as 
pastor, the latter as teacher. Immediately after its organization it 
was formally and fraternally recognized by the church of the Ply- 
mouth colonists, who, now that they had come so far from the scene 
of their former controversy, did not find themselves so much at vari- 
ance with their Puritan brethren. In 1630 another church was 
formed at Charlestown by Governor Winthrop and others, of which 
John Wilson was elected teacher. But these churches did not restrict 
themselves to the control of ecclesiastical matters. As early as 1631 
it was enacted that none should be admitted to the exercise of political 
privileges except members of churches. This measure, adopted with 
the idea that the enfranchised should consist only of Christian men, 



The Puritans and Roger Williams. 17 

formed Avhat was practically a theocracy, being the Calvinistic idea of 
a commonwealth designed to protect and uphold the framework of the 
church. This made each local church the center of political authority 
and threw all the power into the hands of the clergy. A man could 
not become a freeman unless he was a church member, and he could 
not attain to that standing unless he was approved by the minister in 
charge. By this means the clergy administered the temporal power, 
using the state as an instrument to carry out their will. They soon 
showed that they would, if the occasion required, avail themselves of 
the civil executive power to severely punish those who had committed 
no crime against the civil authority, but merely differed concerning 
ecclesiastical affairs. 

Into such an oppressive and austere theocracy came Roger Will- 
iams in February, 1631, at a time when the Puritan clergy were just 
beginning to put to test their chosen principles. This man, destined 
to become the founder of a state and the first exponent of a now world- 
wide principle, was a restless and bold young Englishman, then about 
twenty-seven years of age.^ Immediately after his arrival he was 
invited to become teacher of the church at Boston, in place of John 
Wilson, who was about to return to England. This invitation gave 
Williams, extreme Separatist that he was, an opportunity to promul- 
gate his chosen doctrines. He refused the office, as he ''durst not 

'The researches of the last few years have brought to light so much new- 
material that now it is impossible to say with the historian of twenty years 
ago, "Little is known of the early life of Roger Williams". The researches 
of Mr. Henry F. Waters, published in N. E. Hist, and Gen. Register, xliii, 295, 
have disclosed the fact that he was the son of James Williams, a merchant 
tailor of London, and Alice (Pemberton) Williams. The date of his birth 
has been placed by Waters in about 1601, by Hodges (N. E. Register, liii, 60) 
in 1604, and by Straus in 1607. In a recently printed letter, however, dated 
Feb. 7, 1678, Williams refers to himself as "aged about 75 years," which 
would seem to fix the date as 1603 (see R. I. H. 8. Publ. viii, 156). In 1620 
we find Roger Williams taking notes in shorthand of the speeches made in 
the Star Chamber, where he attracted the attention of his future patron. Sir 
Edward Coke. By him he was placed in the Charter House School in 1621. 
He left there to enter Pembroke College, Cambridge, from which he took his 
degree in 1626. We next find him, in 1629, as a chaplain to Sir William 
Masham of Otes, County of Essex, declaring his love for the niece of Lady 
Harrington and recording the fact that from conscientious scruples he has 
declined ecclesiastical preferment. "Pursued out of the land" by his oppo- 
nents in the established church, he embarked from Bristol with his wife, 
Mary, in the ship Lyon, December 1, 1630, and arrived in Massachusetts Bay, 
February 5, 1631. The name of his wife, generally supposed to have been 
Warnard, has been found within the last year, from the original letter of 
William Harris, to have been Barnard. (See R. I. H. S. Publ. viii, 67.) His 
arrival was recorded by Winthrop as the coming of a "godly minister". For 
a list of articles on Roger Williams, see the bibliography at the conclusion of 
the present work. 
2 



18 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

officiate to an unseparated people", and denounced the congregation 
at Boston for not making public declaration of their repentance for 
having had communion with the churches of England, and for allow- 
ing their magistrates to inflict penalties for the neglect of religious 
duties. 

He was then invited by the church at Salem to become an assistant 
to Rev. Mr. Skelton, succeeding Higginson in the position of teacher. 
Scarcely had he accepted and begun his ministry in that town when 
the General Court at Boston interfered, and, relating the obnoxious 
opinions he had broached in Boston, remonstrated that the Salem 
people should choose him without first conferring with the Council. 
Although, in theory, the church at Salem was an absolutely independ- 
ent community, the authorities at Boston did not scruple to attempt 
jurisdiction over it whenever they thought that the safety of the state 
was in question. The Puritans had shrewdly kept clear of any discus- 
sion as to the Anglican Church, and public repentance for having had 
communion with it would occasion great offense among powerful quar- 
ters in the mother country. The assertion of Roger Williams, in 
which he denied the right of the magistrates to punish for breach of 
the Sabbath or any other violation of the "first table"— the first four 
of the Ten Commandments— affected the very foundation of the Puri- 
tan theocracy. Massachusetts historians, like Palfrey and others, have 
tried to excuse the Puritan remonstrance against this assertion by 
stating that three out of these four Commandments are penal crimes 
to-day. But they have overlooked the fact that Roger Williams's 
doctrine referred only to the attitude of a man's own conscience to 
God, and explicitly disclaimed the idea that the magistrates could not 
punish for violations that "did disturb the civil peace ".^ This 
remonstrance of the Boston authorities apparently, at first, had little 
effect. Whether or not any later influence was brought to bear upon 
the church at Salem the records do not disclose ; but before the close 
of the summer of 1631 we find AVilliams removed from there and in- 
stalled as an assistant to Ralph Smith in the church at Plymouth. 
This place was entirely outside of the jurisdiction of the Boston Court, 
and his surroundings were surely more congenial. Governor Brad- 
ford says: "He was friendly entertained according to their poor 
ability, and exercised his gifts amongst them; and after some time 
was admitted a member of the church and his teaching approved ".- 

^This doctrine is explicitly stated in the first of the four charges brought 
against Williams in July, 1635. For the attitude of Massachusetts historians, 
see Palfrey, i, 407. 

-Hist. Plymotith Plant., p. 195. 



The Puritans and Roger Williams. 19 

He remained here for two years, supporting himself by manual labor 
and rapidly gathering, by his teaching, a band of faithful adherents 
to his doctrines. During the period he wisely availed himself of cul- 
tivating friendly relations with his Indian neighbors. To promote 
the religious welfare of the savages, he studied their language and 
manners, and formed a lifelong acquaintance with Massasoit, Canoni- 
cus, and Miantonomi. In later times this friendship proved of great 
value to Rhode Island and to New England as well. His doctrines, 
although they fell upon more fruitful ground, excited even here the 
opposition of some of the Pilgrim authorities. The mild Elder Brew- 
ster feared his disputatious spirit, and Bradford, after a few months' 
experience, describes him as "a man godly and zealous, having many 
precious parts, but very unsettled in judgment". 

The Salem church, in the meanwhile, had not forgotten their 
former pastor, and, in 1633, showed their affection and confidence by 
inviting him to resume his ministry with them as an assistant to Skel- 
ton. In August of that year he obtained his dismissal from the Ply- 
mouth Church, and accompanied by a few of his flock who preferred 
to remain faithful to him, he returned to Salem. His teaching does 
not seem to have inspired any notable opposition from the Boston 
authorities during the first few months.^ AVhile at Plymouth he had 
written a treatise upon the royal patent, in which he maintained that 
the colonists could acquire title to the land, not by royal grant, but 
only by purchase from the lawful owners, the Indians. In December, 
1633, the General Court requested that this treatise should be sub- 
jected to their examination, and after consulting the clergy, found 
that it contained matter liable to bring them into displeasure at home, 
the more as it was "accompanied with language of studied affront to 
the late and to the reigning king". They found these three passages 
especially offensive: "That he chargeth King James to have told a 
solemn public lie, because in his patent he blessed God that he was the 
first Christian prince that had discovered this land ; that he chargeth 
him and others mth blasphemy for calling Europe Christendom, or 
the Christian world ; that he did personally apply to our present King 
Charles, these three places in the Revelations." Regarding the first 
point, Williams was historically correct, as the land was discovered 
over a century previous. As concerns the second, denial of the Chris- 
tianity of Europe was a common phrase among the more zealous of 

'There is no reliable evidence to show that he took any prominent part 
in the controversies of the time regarding the wearing of veils or the meeting 
of ministers in "associations". (See Arnold, Hist, of R. I., i, 26.) 



20 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

those who opposed the Anglican church and need not have caused such 
sudden indignation among those who believed it if they did not put it 
in writing. As to the last point, Savage, a Massachusetts historian, 
says : "No complaint of such indiscretion would have been expressed 
ten years later, when the mother country far outran the colony in these 
perversions of Scripture".^ The Court, however, ordered that Will- 
iams should be censured, and wrote Governor Endicott to urge him to 
retract. This treatise, whether purposely or not, was evidently mis- 
understood by the Massachusetts authorities, being written, not for 
publication, but for the "private satisfaction" of the governor at 
Plymouth. Williams had no intention of being disloyal, and when his 
religious opponents put him to the test by bringing forward something 
that he had written privately, he offered to give every proof of his 
loyalty, even to the burning of his book. The General Court accepted 
this offer, being satisfied, after reflection, that the views were not so 
dangerous as had first appeared. 

In August, 1634, Skelton died, and Williams, in spite of the remon- 
strance of the General Court, was chosen by the Salem church to suc- 
ceed him as teacher. Scarcely was he installed when he again began 
propagating the opinions which the Boston clergy deemed so danger- 
ous. They first complained that he was "teaching publicly against 
the King's patent, and our great sin in claiming right thereby to this 
country, and for usual terming the churches of England Anti-Chris- 
tian". This complaint was soon dropped for a more serious one. The 
General Court, in order to secure allegiance to the colony in case of 
possible opposition to the king, had designed to impose upon the people 
an oath of fidelity. Williams, whether because he thought that the 
authority of the king was thereby compromised, or because he had 
abstract theories regarding the taking of oaths, asserted that ' ' a mag- 
istrate ought not to tender an oath to an unregenerated man, for that 
we thereby have communion with a wicked man in the worship of God, 
and cause him to take the name of God in vain". AVilliams was 
brought before the ministers for voicing this opinion, which admittedly 
caused the Court to desist from imposing the oath, and according to 
the statement of his adversaries, he was "clearly confuted". 

As yet the magistrates had been able to make but little headway in 
overthrowdng the opinions of Roger Williams. Whenever they took 
occasion to strengthen their religious oligarchy by an abuse of civil 
power, up rose this young Salem minister and successfully contested 

^Winthrop, i, 122. 



The Puritans and Roger Williams. 21 

their unwarranted assumption of authority. Since the magistrates 
seemed unable or unwilling to assume the responsibility, the General 
Court took up the matter, and in July, 1635, summoned AVilliams to 
appear before them. He was accused of maintaining the following 
dangerous opinions : ' ' First, that the magistrate ought not to punish 
the breach of the first table, otherwise than in such cases as did disturb 
the civil peace ; secondly, that he ought not to tender an oath to an 
unregenerated man ; thirdly, that a man ought not to pray with such, 
though wife, child, etc. ; fourthly, that a man ought not to give thanks 
after the sacrament nor after meals," etc.^ The first and second of 
these charges we have already alluded to. The third and fourth are 
but trivial, being added merely as subsidiary to the two most important 
offenses, although there is nothing in Williams's writings to show that 
he ever promulgated these views. If he ever did express them, they 
are at most merely technical dift'erences in doctrine, due to his zeal as 
a Separatist to combat everything that worked toward uniformity in 
the church, and could never have been dangerous to the civil peace of 
the Colony. Williams appeared in answer to the summons of the 
Court and the "said opinions were adjudged by all, magistrates and 
ministers, to be erroneous, and very dangerous, and the calling of him 
to office, at that time, was adjudged a great contempt of authority. 
So, in fine, time was given to him and the church at Salem to consider 
of these things until the next General Court, and then either to give 
satisfaction to the Court, or else to expect sentence". 

While the matter was thus pending, the town of Salem petitioned 
for some land in jMarblehead Neck, which they considered as belonging 
to their town. But "because they had chosen Mr. Williams their 
teacher, while he stood under question of authority, and so offered 
contempt to the magistrates", their petition was refused. For a 
political body to refuse to do an act of temporal justice on account of 
some spiritual deficiency in the petitioners was a perversion of law 
and an extraordinary abuse of authority. The Salem church imme- 
diately took offense, and, according to Winthrop, "wrote to other 
churches to admonish the magistrates of this as a heinous sin, and 
likewise the deputies". The people of the other churches, however, 
not being inspired by the preaching of Williams, apparently decided 
to side with the party which had the most power. Williams, whom 
Winthrop describes as "being sick and not able to speak", then wrote 
to his church, protesting that he could not communicate with the 

^Winthrop, i, 162. This author is our sole authority for a large part of 
this religious controversy. 



22 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

churches of the Bay, nor communicate even with them unless they 
refused communication with the rest. At the next General Court the 
deputies from Salem were refused their seats until they should give 
satisfaction about the letter.^ 

The Salem church was now in a decided predicament. If they 
yielded to the pressure of the magistrates, they were refused communi- 
cation with their pastor. If they continued to oppose the General 
Court, they would be denied any voice in the government of the colony. 
Much grieved at the situation, they chose the lesser of the tAVO evils and 
yielded, leaving their persecuted minister to retreat also, or else suffer 
the consequences. A single person is always more liable than a com- 
munity to show devotion to a principle; or, as Williams's opponents 
might have put it, he was more obstinate than his following. His 
nature was not one that quailed before a show of force, and when the 
time of his trial came he was as unshaken in his convictions as ever. 
In October, 1635, in response to the summons of the General Court, 
he appeared in order to answer to the charges against him. The pro- 
ceedings of the Court are best given by Winthrop, the least unpreju- 
diced of the early annalists : 

"At this general court, Mr. Williams, the teacher at Salem, was 
again convented, and all the ministers in the bay being desired to be 
present, he was charged with the said two letters— that to the churches, 
complaining of the magistrates for injustice, extreme oppression, etc., 
and the other to his own churdi, to persuade them to renounce com- 
munion with all the churches in the bay, as full of anti-christian pollu- 
tion, etc. He justified both these letters, and maintained all his opin- 
ions ; and, being offered further conference or dispution, and a month's 
respite, he chose to dispute presently. So Mr. Hooker was appointed 
to dispute with him, but could not reduce him from any of his errors. 
So, the next morning, the court sentenced him to depart out of our 
jurisdiction within six weeks, all the ministers, save one, approving 
the sentence ; and his own church had him under question also for the 
same cause ; and he, at his return home, refused communion with his 
own church, who openly disclaimed his errors, and wrote an humble 
submission to the magistrates, acknowledging their fault in joining 
with Mr. Williams in that letter to the churches against them, etc. ' ' 

The sentence of banishment was passed in these words : 

^Endicott, Salem's principal deputy, subsequently justified this Salem 
letter, and the General Court, in addition to unseating him, imprisoned him 
until he should acknowledge his offense. Savage, one of the first Massachu- 
setts historians to admit the magistrates' abuse of temporal power, says: 
"This denial, or perversion, of justice will not permit us to think that the 
judges of Williams were free from all blame in producing his schism." Winr 
throp, i, 164. 



The Puritans and Roger Williams, 23 

"Whereas, Mr. Roger Williams, one of the elders of the church at 
Salem, hath broached and divulged divers new and dangerous opinions 
against the authority of the magistrates ; as also writ letters of defama- 
tion, both of the magistrates and churches here, and that before any 
conviction, and yet maintained the same without any retracting ; it is 
therefore ordered that the said Mr. Williams shall depart out of this 
jurisdiction within six weeks now next ensuing, which, if he neglect 
to perform, it shall be lawful for the Governor and two of the magis- 
trates to send him to some place out of this jurisdiction, not to return 
any more without license from the Court. "^ 

Liberty was afterwards granted him to stay until spring, provided 
he did not ''go about to draw others to his opinions". His restless 
nature, however, did not permit him to remain quiet, and in January, 
1636, we find the General Court listening to the complaints that he was 
promulgating his views in his own house, and that he and twenty 
others were intending to erect a plantation about Narragansett Bay. 
Since there were many who still embraced his opinions, the magistrates 
deemed that his proposed settlement would result in a "spread of the 
infection", and accordingly resolved to send him away to England by 
ship. On his refusal to come to Boston in answer to a summons they 
dispatched Captain Underbill with a pinnace to Salem with orders to 
seize him and to carry him on board the ship about to sail for England. 
But when they came to his house they found that he had gone three 
days before, whither they could not learn. 

It seems that Governor Winthrop, who, in spite of his many differ- 
ences, manifested a lifelong friendship towards Williams, had advised 
him to settle in the fertile Narragansett country; and to that end, 
Williams, leaving behind his wife and two infant children, set out 
upon his perilous winter journey.^ He apparently passed the 
winter among the Wampanoag Indians, whose friendship he 
had cultivated during his residence at Plymouth, and, at the 
opening of spring, began to plant and build on the east side 
of the Seekonk River, on what was recently known as Manton's Neck. 

'^Mass. Col. Rec. i, 160. There has been much misapprehension concerning 
the date of banishment of Roger Williams. The accepted date of October 9, 
1635, was first given, with a full discussion of the subject, in Dexter's As to 
Roger Williams, p. 58. See also J. A. Rowland in R. I. H. S. Proc. 1886-87, 
p. 52. 

"Straus, in his biography, p. 74, concludes that this journey must have 
been made by sea, referring to Guild as his authority. But Dr. Guild, in 
later years, in his Footprints of R. W., p. 19, retracts this opinion, agreeing 
with the generally recognized view that the journey was made by land. For 
a careful discussion of this subject see Dexter As to R. W., p, 62; also Book 
Notes, xi, 148. 



24 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

But he was soon destined to be disturbed. "I received a letter," he 
says, "from my ancient friend, Mr. Winslow, the Governor of Plymouth, 
professing his own and others' love and respect to me, yet lovingly 
advising me since I was fallen into the edge of their bounds and they 
were loath to displease the Bay, to remove but to the other side of the 
water." "Williams, though suffering the loss of the crops he had 
planted, quietly acquiesced, and accompanied by five companions^ who 
had in the meantime joined him, set out to seek a freer land beyond 
the river. Tradition narrates that they proceeded down the Seekonk 
River in a canoe as far as "Slate Rock", where they were welcomed 
by the Indians with the friendly salutation "What cheer, netop?"^ 
Passing around the headlands now known as India and Fox Points, 
they traveled up the Mooshassuck River and disembarked near a 
spring,^ on the east side of the river a little southwest of where St. 
John's church now stands. Here they began their settlement, to which 
in gratitude for deliverance from his many distresses, M^illiams gave 
the name of Providence. 

It is now time to review briefly the true causes of Roger Williams's 
banishment and to draw conclusions as to the justifiability of the pro- 
ceedings. Probably no one event in early New England history has 
given rise to so much contradictory discussion among historical writers 
as the explanation of the real motives for expelling Williams from the 
Massachusetts Colony. The Puritan apologists have attempted to show 
that he was a "subverter of the foundations of government" and that 
his removal was brought about for reasons purely political ; while his 
own eulogists, chiefly of the Baptist persuasion, have asserted that his 
enunciation of the great principle of religious freedom was the chief 

^William Harris, John Smith, Francis Wickes, Thomas Angell and Joshua 
Verin. See Arnold, i, 97. For William Arnold's claim as a ilrst comer, see 
Prov. Rec. xv, 77. According to Theodore Foster's account, obtained 
of Stephen Hopkins (Foster Papers, vi, 19 in R. I. Hist. Soc), Thomas Angell 
was the only person to accompany Williams on his famous expedition around 
Fox Point. (See R. I. H. 8. Coll. vii, 83, and Stone's Life of Hotvland, p. 344.) 
The date of this expedition, which is also the date of the founding of Provi- 
dence, has been variously estimated from April 20 to June 26, 1836. The 
safest estimate would put it in the latter part of May or early in June. For a 
full discussion of this question, which is too lengthy to be entered upon here, 
see Narr. Hist. Reg. v. 27. 

^Articles on "What Cheer" and its tradition are in Rider's Book Notes, 
vii, 47, and in R. I. H. S. Publ. vi, 232. 

^There are accounts of Roger Williams's Spring in the Microcosm, Febru- 
ary 24, 1826; Providence Journal, March 11, 1894; and R. I. H. 8. Publ. vii, 
135. Moses Brown relates a tradition that upon landing, the first comers 
"were invited by the natives to partake with them of succotash and boiled bass 
then cooking over the fire, which they accepted". (R. I. Mss. viii, 5, in R. 
I. H. 8.) 



The Puritans and Roger Williams. 



25 



reason for his departure. Indeed, writers of the present decade seem 
able to argue the subject with as much conviction and prejudice as 
they did half a century ago. To arrive at any clear judgment of the 
case, we must depend on three classes of original authorities: the 
official action of the Court, the evidence afforded by contemporary 
writers, and the statements of Williams himself.^ 

The sentence of the Court gives the following reasons for his ban- 
ishment : his broaching of "new and dangerous opinions against the 




Slate Rock and Seekonk River 

From a painting by Noyes, in the possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 
representing the locality as remembered by the artist. 

authority of magistrates", and his writing and defending certain 
"letters of defamation". These are the sole charges against him. As 
far as the wording goes, the crimes might be political, but as a matter 
of fact, they are not. The "new and dangerous opinions" were care- 
fully defined in the official complaint of the Court three months pre- 



^Every writer on the subject must acknowledge his obligations to H. M. 
Dexter for the marshalling of original authorities in his As toRogerWilliams, 
even though few could agree with all the inferences therein expressed. 



26 State of Rhode Island and Proatidence Plantations. 

vious to the sentence. By a reference to this,^ it may clearly be seen 
that the first two of the four charges instance his conception of the 
complete separation of civil and religious authority, whereas the last 
two refer to trivial peculiarities of private religious opinion. He was 
at that time threatened with banishment unless he retracted these 
specific opinions. The second charge against him in the sentence re- 
ferred to his protest against the "scandalous injustice" of the magis- 
trates in denying the Salem petition for land, merely because the 
Salem pastor had offended the Court. This again instanced his 
objection to the principle whereby temporal punishment could be 
administered for spiritual deficiencies. So much for the official action 
of the Court. 

Winthrop, perhaps the most reliable of the contemporary writers, 
affirms that the defamatory letters and the maintenance of his opinions 
were the causes of Williams's banishment. Later, in referring to 
Wheelwright's heresies, he says that Williams was expelled "for the 
like, though less dangerous". Cotton, the strongest adversary of 
Williams in his later life, always sought to justify Massachusetts on 
the ground that Williams was banished because his preachings against 
the patent and oath of fidelity, his letters of defamation, and his 
renunciation of the churches in the Bay were all subvertive of the civil 
peace. Gorton says he was expelled for "dissenting from them in 
some points about their Church Government. ' '^ 

The most important reference by Williams to his banishment is in 
his reply to Cotton, where he quotes the charges as made by Governor 
Haynes, and admits that they were rightly summed up. The charges 
were: "That we have not our land by Patent from the King, but 
that the natives are the true owners of it. That it is not lawful to 
swear, to pray, as being actions of God's worship. That it is not law- 
ful to hear any of the ministers of the parish assemblies in England. 
That the civil magistrate's power extends only to the bodies and goods, 
and outward state of men." These, says Williams, were "the four 
particular grounds of my sentence."^ 

Although the foregoing authorities do not settle upon the same spe- 
cific reasons for banishment, they certainly agree in the negative con- 
clusion that Williams was not expelled for any one separate cause. 
Whether we accept the rather vague indictment that appears in his 

'See ante. p. 21; also W. E. Foster in R. I. H. S. Coll., vii, 96. 
-Winthrop, i, 171, and his Life, ii, 186; Cotton, Rephj to Williams p 26- 
Gorton, Simplicities Defence (in R. I. H. S. Coll., ii, 43). ' ' 

'Cotton's letter examined, p. 4. 



The Puritans and Roger Williams. 27 

final sentence, or the definite charges as made by Haynes and admitted 
by Williams, which were the real grounds of his banishment, we must 
undoubtedly come to the same conclusion. The offender had propa- 
gated certain opinions which, said the clergy, were "subvertive of the 
framework of government". And so they were, but subvertive of the 
religious, and not the political, framework. Roger Williams did not 
discourse upon the tax system, or the method of holding elections, or 
any other strictly political question ; but he did protest, and vehement- 
ly, against the mingling of temporal and spiritual concerns, against 
the principle which made the magistrate but the mouthpiece of the 
clergy. Those in power quickly realized that if any considerable 
.number of people accepted his teachings, their theocracy would be 
greatly weakened, and it was but natural that they should wish the 
thorn in their flesh removed. And so they banished him, not for his 
attitude upon religious toleration, nor for his championship of liberty 
of conscience — for these ideas were then but embryonic in his mind — 
but for his protest against their usurpation of temporal authority. 

Can this act of banishment, although natural, be considered as justi- 
fiable? The clergy clearly showed their position in the Williams 
controversy, when in an official opinion given to the Court, they 
declared "that he who should obstinately maintain such opinions, 
whereby a church might run into heresy, apostasy, or tyranny, and yet 
the civil magistrate could not intermeddle, were to be removed."^ 

This declaration, which alone would explain the cause of Williams 's 
expulsion, unmistakably evidenced their desire to censure, to persecute 
or to banish those who opposed the civil authority in spiritual matters. 
That some of them, even in that intolerant day, realized that such 
persecution was against all human progress, is shown by their attempt 
to shield their action under the pretense that it was done to suppress 
civil disturbance. A keen observer of the period, in referring to the 
banishment of Williams and others by the clergy, remarked that "they 
found out a pretty fine distinction to deceive themselves with, that the 
magistrate questioned and punished for those opinions and errors, not 
as heresies and such opinions, but as breaches of the civil peace and 
disturbances to the Commonw^ealth".^ This fine distinction, as the 
author infers, was not a distinction at all, but merely an excuse. The 
greater number of the theocrats, however, pursued their domineering 
course without any other justification than the professed purpose to 
suppress heresy and thereby "secure a true religion to posterity". 

'Winthrop, i, 163. 

^Thomas Edwards, Antapologia, (1644) p. 165. 



28 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

We have already noted the significant reply of the clergy to the Court 
in the Williams case, and a year or two later we find Governor Win- 
throp thus censuring Mrs. Hutchinson for daring to differ in doc- 
trine: "Your course is not to be suffered. . . . We see not that 
any should have authority to set up any other exercises besides what 
authority hath already set up." By 1644 a law was passed decreeing 
banishment upon any one who openly condemned the baptizing of 
infants ; and this was only the beginning of what was to follow. 

But why should we attempt to apologize for those who themselves 
sought no other excuse than the necessity of securing a dominant re- 
ligion? We condemn the inquisitorial proceedings of the thirteenth 
century popes, we loudly declaim against Philip II for his insufferable 
persecution of the Jews and Moors, we never seek to defend Louis XIV 
for banishing the Huguenots from France— and yet when we come to 
consider our own Puritan forefathers, we allow ourselves to be de- 
ceived by the sophistical argument that that which was admittedly 
wrong in the Old World was right and best in the New.^ It is true 
that the proceedings against the Quakers and other late offenders 
deserve our condemnation more than does the banishment of Williams, 
which was but the warning note of the persecution to follow. But 
even this early course of action does not admit of justification. Unless 
we believe that a protest against the spiritual assumption of temporal 
authority should be visited with punishment, unless we consider the 
union of church and state to be the highest form of political organiza- 
tion, then we cannot defend the founders of Massachusetts in banish- 
ing Roger Williams. 

^The writings of Charles Francis Adams, who has done more than any- 
other historian to give a clear insight into early Massachusetts history, are 
particularly pertinent at this point. In one place he says: "The trouble 
with the historical writers who have taken upon themselves the defense of 
the founders of Massachusetts is that they have tried to sophisticate away 
the facts. ... In Spain it was the dungeon, the rack and the fagot; in 
Massachusetts it was banishment, the whip and the gibbet. In neither case 
can the records be obliterated. Between them it is only a question of degree 
— one may in color be a dark drab, while the other is unmistakably a jetty 
black. The difficulty is with those who, expatiating with great force of lan- 
guage on the sooty aspect of the one, turn and twist the other in the light, 
and then solemnly asseverate its resemblance to driven snow. Unfortunately 
for those who advocate this view of the Old and New World records, the facts 
do not justify it." (MassacMisetts, its historians and its history, p. 34.) 



CHAPTER III. 
THE FOUNDING OF PROVIDENCE. 

The primary purpose of Roger Williams, when contemplating the 
project of settling near Narragansett Bay, was to spread Christianity 
among the Indians and to elevate them both morally and socially. 
"My soul's desire," he says, "was to do the natives good, and to that 
end to learn their language, and therefore desired not to be troubled 
with English company".^ But the impracticability of this idea and 
the forced companionship of several who were also under the displeas- 
ure of the Bay government, made him change his purpose, and become 
the founder of a "shelter for persons distressed of conscience" — a 
community where complete religious toleration might be secured. 

The planting of a settlement on the banks of the Mooshassuck was no 
suddenly conceived idea. Long before the settlers began the creation 
of their rude houses, Roger Williams, in consistency with his opinions 
concerning the ownership of the soil, negotiated for its purchase from 
the natives. Through his knowledge of their language and manners, 
and through his favor with them, he procured what ' ' monies could not 
do," and obtained from Canonicus and Miantonomi a gift of land 
upon the Mooshassuck and Woonasquetucket Rivers. This agreement, 
perhaps a verbal one, does not appear on the records, but is mentioned 
in the following "memorandum", dated March 24th in the second 
year of the plantation, or 1638.- 

^Answer to W. Harris, 1677, in Rider's Tracts, xiv, 53. Had Williams 
merely desired to live apart from his Puritan brethren, he might have fol- 
low^ed the plan of William Blackstone, who had preceded him to Rhode 
Island. This striking and somew^hat mysterious personage had sold his 
estate in Boston in 1634, and removed to a spot in the present town of Cum- 
berland, named by him "Study Hill." He lived a solitary life with his family 
until his death in 1675. For particulars of his life, see Savage's Winthrop, 
i, 53; Mem. Hist, of Boston, i, 84; R. I. H. 8. Coll. vii, 25; American Magazine, 
vii, 707; A. Oilman's Pathfinders, p. 112; S. C. Newman's Address before 
Blackstone Monument Assoc. 1855; L. M. Sargent, Blackstone Family; and 
biographical sketches of Blackstone by T. C. Amory, 1877, B. F. De Costa, 
1880, and J. C. Crane, 1896. 

^Prov. Rec. iv, 70. The original of this deed, in a mutilated condition, is 



30 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

"Memorandum, that we Caunanicusse and Meianantunnomu, the 
two chief Sachems of Nanheggansuck, having two years since sold unto 
Roger Williams the lands and meadows upon the two fresh rivers 
called Mowshausuck and Wanasquatuckett, do now by these presents 
establish and confirm the bounds of those lands from the rivers and 
fields of Pautuckett, the great hill of Neotaconkonitt on the norwest 
and the towne of Mashapauge on the west. As also in consideration 
of the many kindnesses and services he hath continually done for us 
both with our friends of Massachusetts as also at Quinitikticutt, and 
Apaum or Plimouth, we do freely give unto him all that land from 
those rivers, reaching to Pautuxett River, as also the grass and mea- 
dows upon Pautuxett River.^ In witness whereof we have hereunto 
set our hands." 

still preserved in the City Hall. In 1659 it was for the first time recorded, 
with certain additions, said to have been necessary through the mutilation 
of the original deed. In 1662 it was again recorded, but without the said 
additions. 

'This last sentence Sidney S. Rider, in an interesting and forceful treatise 
(R. I. Hist. Tract, ser. 2, no. 4) considers to be a forgery, "interpolated by 
William Harris and his partners". George T. Paine, in an equally interesting 
tract (A denial of the charges of forger]/ in connection with the sacheni's 
deed to Roger Williams), denies this claim. Mr. Rider's chief support to his 
assertion, is that the above sentence, while given in the record of 1659, does 
not appear in the record of 1662. Leaving aside all discussion as to motives 
for forgery, the original deed itself seems to show eradication rather than 
interpolation. A careful examination of the photographic reproductions in 
both the tracts will show that there are certain marks on the lower half of 
the deed which seem to be part of missing letters which do not appear in the 
upper half. There are several early allusions to the fact that the deed was 
torn (see Paine's Denial, p. 10, 41), but none whatever to the fact that it was 
interpolated. There is a manuscript, which has never yet been printed, that 
throws much light upon the "forgery". It is a testimony of William Field, 
and the following extract will show its importance in the question: "Now, 
sir, I conceive this William Arnold, to obtain his own ends, to deprive us of 
our right of the said lands of Pawtuxet, that we might have nothing to show 
for it . . . cunningly cut out or otherwise got out of the said evidence 
all concerning the said our right of Pawtuxett and pasted the said writing 
together again so cunningly that it could hardly be discerned but by those 
who well knew by rote what was formerly in the Evidence; but so it happeneth 
that by God's providence, there is a copy or two of his own handwriting 
(which I conceive he had forgot) to be seen, which compared with the de- 
formed evidence doth fully demonstrate his naughty and evil intent." 
{Prov. Town Papers, no. 01293.) William Harris himself says that the deed 
fell into a certain person's hands, and the "part concerning Pawtuxet was 
taken out, and the paper on both sides thereof put edge to edge and pasted 
together on another paper." He also says that the word "Pawtuxet" in the 
memorandum was "blotted", and the original deed bears evidence of this fact. 
(R. I. H. 8. Publ. i, 2030.) If this forgery had ever been perpetrated 
Roger Williams would certainly have alluded to it in his voluminous writings 
on the subject. He would have been only too glad to find another crime to 
lay explicitly at the door of William Harris. The sentence under discussion 
gave to Roger Williams his only clear title to the lands bordering on the 
north side of Pawtuxet, which, in 1638, he deeded to his associates, using 



The Founding op Peovidence. 31 

This deed is signed by Canonicus and Miantonomi in the presence 
of Indian witnesses, and is followed by a second "memorandum". 

"3. month, 9. day. This was all again confirmed by Miantenomu, 
he acknowledged this his act and hand up the stream of Pautuckett 
and Pautuxett without limits we might have for our use of cattle, 
"AVitness hereof 

Roger Williams 
Benedict Arnold."^ 

The absence of legal phraseology in this deed has little signification, 
as the knowledge of what we call modern law was very rudimentary. 
Williams had no idea of buying land for a political community, but 
intended only to procure a title which should be vested in him alone. 
When pressed by some of his companions to admit them into the fel- 
lowship of his purchase, he consented, agreeing that the place should 
be a shelter for "persons distressed for conscience". In considera- 
tion of £30 as a compensation for his own expenses, he made over equal 
rights in the whole purchase to twelve of his associates and "such 
others as the major part of us shall admit into the same fellowship of 
vote with us."- 

almost exactly the same words as in the so-called interpolated clause. Will- 
iams, himself, in a hitherto unpublished letter, explicitly mentions the 
"knowne stated bounds fixt us in our grand Original deed, to wit Pawtuck- 
quit, Notaquonckanit, Maushapog and Pawtuxet." {R. I. H. S. Puhl. viii, 
158.) Although there are many assertions concerning land troubles in Mr. 
Rider's tract that are incontrovertible, I believe that most historical scholars 
cannot accept the claim that the above sentence concerning the Pawtuxet 
lands was a forgery. 

^This memorandum, according to William Harris, is in the handwriting of 
Thomas James. (R. I. H. S. Publ. i, 210.) The date 1639 is prefixed to it in 
the enrollment of 1659. Mr. Rider asserts that this is an interpolation, which 
is undoubtedly true, as it is not in the original deed. He asserts that the 
signatures of the two witnesses are also forgeries. Roger Williams, however, 
denied the recording of the testimony and not his signature as a witness. 
The evidence as to the forgery of Arnold's name may have been adduced from 
the following source "Mr. Benedict Arnold upon his engagement saith the 
name subscribed in the paper where the Evidence of Providence is was not his 
handwriting. But he saith that he did subscribe his name to such a paper as 
that is about that time." Taken in Court, March, 1659. (Harris Papers in 
R. I. Hist. Soc. p. 87.) 

-Prov. Rec. xv, 86. The text of this deed is obtained from an officially 
certified, but undated, copy of 1661. It is known as the "Initial Deed", since 
the names of thetwelve associates are indicated by their initials. In 1666 Will- 
iams re-executed this deed, assigning to it the date of Oct. 8, 1638, and giving 
the full names of his associates. They were Stukely Westcott, William 
Arnold, Thomas James, Robert Cole, John Greene, John Throckmorton, Will- 
iam Harris, William Carpenter, Thomas Olney, Francis Weston, Richard 
Waterman, and Ezekiel Holliman. (Prov. Rec. iii, 90.) Five years previous, 
in 1661, Williams had executed a similar deed having a seal, release of dower, 
and other formalities. (Prov. Rec. v, 306.) In this latter document, in 



32 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

The vague boundaries of this deed to his associates, and the omission 
of a clear definition of the capacity of the grantees and of the qualifica- 
tions of subsequent purchasers led the way to the various interpreta- 
tions of the deed which were to disturb Providence town-meetings for 
the next half-century. "Williams intended that newcomers should pay 
thirty shillings into a town stock, and believed that he had transferred 
his Indian purchase to an association or corporate succession to hold 
in trust until a future town was ready to receive it. William Harris 
and several of the proprietors thought that those who had borne the 
burden of settlement should reap some reward, and apparently be- 
lieved in the diversion of the whole estate to the profit of a private 
corporation, without regard to the interest of the commonwealth.^ The 
latter class at a very early day seem to have been anxious to 
possess larger individual holdings. "AV. Harris and the first twelve 
of Providence were restless for Pawtuxet, " says Williams. In 1638, 
the same year of the "Initial Deed", all the meadow ground at Paw- 
tuxet was "impropriated unto thirteen persons, being now incorporate 
into our town of Providence", and a consideration of £20 was paid 
to Roger Williams.- The lack of boundaries in this deed was another 
great source of discussion among the proprietors. For years the toAvn 
surveyors could not settle upon the line between the ' ' grand purchase 
of Providence ' ' and the ' ' Pawtuxet purchase ' ', and in fact the matter 
was not decided until 1712. 

By the time Roger Williams had deeded away all the land he had 
purchased from the Indians, the little settlement had been somewhat 
augmented by new arrivals from Massachusetts. The first division of 
lands within the ' ' grand purchase of Providence ' ' gave to each one of 
the early settlers, fifty-four in number, a "home lot", a six acre lot 
and a number of acres of meadow land. The home-lots, of five acres 
each, extended from the ' ' Towne Streete ' ', now North and South Main 
streets, to what is now Hope street, and the six-acre lots were situated 
in the southerly part of "Providence Neck", and upon the Woonas- 
quatucket River.^ 

referring apparently to the initial deed, he assigns to it the date 1637, which 
differs from his date of October 8, 1638, given five years later. Undoubtedly 
1637 is an error of memory, as he did not obtain the lands from the sachems 
until March 24, 1638. Four of the grantees, moreover — Westcott, Weston, 
Waterman and Holliman — did not come to Providence until after March, 1638. 

'There is a careful discussion of this "Initial Deed" in Dorr, Prov. pro- 
prietors and freeholders,'' pp. 12-20. 

^R. I. Col. Rec. i. 20. 

^These early divisions of land are described in H. C. Dorr's Planting and 
Groivth of Providence, and in C. W. Hopkins's Home-lots of the early settlers. 
See also Book Notes, iv, 21. 



The Founding of Providence. 33 

The numerical weakness and the few political requirements of the 
earliest settlers did not necessitate a carefully organized government. 
The masters of families simply met once a fortnight to consult "about 
our common peace, watch and planting", and chose one of their num- 
ber, named the "officer", to call the meeting at the appointed time. 
But, before the settlement was a year old, several young men who had 
been admitted to freedom of inhabitation became discontented with 
their estate and sought freedom of voting and equality. Roger Will- 
iams realized fully the danger of not having some sort of civil compact 
and prepared a "double subscription", one to be signed by the masters 
of families, the other by the young men recently admitted.^ Whether 
the former of these subscriptions was ever submitted to the townsmen, 
the meagre records do not show. The latter was formally adopted in 
town meeting, August 20, 1637, being known as the "civil compact". 
It was in these words : 

"We, whose names are hereunder, desirous to inhabit in the town 
of Providence, do promise to subject ourselves in active or passive 
obedience to all such orders or agreements as shall be made for public 
good of our body, in an orderly way, by the major assent of the present 
inhabitants, masters of families, incorporated together into a town 
fellowship, and others whom they shall admit unto them, only in civil 
things. ' '^ 

The masters of families and such others as they admitted unto them 
now exercised all functions— executive, legislative, and judicial. It 
was the town meeting that made such little ordinances as were neces- 
sary for safety, decided the ever besetting questions concerning land, 
and passed judgment upon all offenders. There was one matter, how- 
ever, to which their authority did not extend. The compact provided 
for perfect religious liberty by limiting their authority to civil things 

'We find the text of these compacts in a letter from Williams to Winthrop, 
written in the autumn of 1636. (See Narr. Cluh Publ. vi, 3.) It is to this 
letter also that we owe our knowledge concerning the earliest government at 
Providence. 

■Prov. Rec. i, 1. The date, August 20, 1637, according to the transcript of 
1800, was upon the original record, but the page upon which it was originally 
written is now gone. There should be no hesitancy in assigning this date, 
however, as Daniel Abbott, in a memorandum of several years later, says, 
"And in the year 1637, became a Towne incorporated August the 20th." 
{Prov. Rec. 4th Rep't. p. 11.) This statement of Abbott's would seem to 
make against the theory that the householders had adopted some express form 
of organization previous to the compact. The names of the thirteen signers 
were Richard Scott, William Reynolds, .John Field, Chad Brown, John War- 
ner, George Rickard, Edward Cope, Thomas Angell, Thomas Harris, Francis 
Wickes, Benedict Arnold, Joshua Winsor and William Wickenden. 



34 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

only. The great principle of freedom of conscience was for the first 
time recognized in the New World. 

The first change from pure democracy came in 1640. Disputes, 
chiefly concerning land, had become too frequent to be settled in town 
meetings where it was difficult to secure even a quorum. The settlers 
desired a government which would be less onerous to individuals and 
more energetic for the increasing needs and population of the commu- 
nity. Accordingly, a committee, chosen to devise some plan of relief, 
considered ' ' all these differences, being desirous to bring them to unity 
and peace". Their report, dated July 27, 1640, is subscribed to by 
thirty-nine of the inhabitants as "laying themselves dowTi subject to 
it". According to this agreement, the inhabitants were to choose five 
men, called ''disposers", who were to "be betrusted with disposals of 
land and also of the town's stock, and all general things". A town 
clerk was also to be chosen, who should call the disposers together 
every month and a general town meeting every quarter. The dis- 
posers were to hold office for one quarter, and the clerk for one year. 
All private differences were to be settled by arbitration, the disposers 
being empowered to select arbitrators in case the disputants refused to 
do so. If a person should be wronged and not prosecute the offender, 
the disposers could call up the case themselves. All the inhabitants 
were required to assist in the pursuit of a delinquent ; but if any per- 
son raised a "hubbub" without just cause, he must make satisfaction 
for his error. If any inhabitant thought himself wronged by the 
action of the disposers, he might make appeal to the town meeting or, 
if necessary, have the clerk call a special meeting. All former grants 
of land were to stand, and subsequent deeds were to be given to the 
purchasers by the disposers. It was also specifically provided "as 
formerly hath been the liberties of the toAvn, so still to hold forth 
liberty of conscience."^ 

This agreement, though it seems to have been the only form of gov- 
ernment for several years, was but little removed from the perfect 
democracy of the first compact. The disposers had practically no dele- 
gated power when an appeal from their action to the judgment of the 
town could be made by a single inhabitant. The method of arbitra- 
tion, moreover, was not particularly effective among men whose lati- 
tude of opinion concerning civil government was about as broad as 
their ideas upon religion. As Roger Williams says : "Our peace was 

^The original report of the committee is not in existence. A copy, attested 
to in 1662, is in the Prov. Rec. xv, 2. Another copy, taken apparently in 1650, 
is in Suffolk Deeds, i, 124. 



The Founding op Providence, 35 

like the peace of a man who hath the tertian ague." An attempt to 
enforce the decision of the arbitrators sometimes ended in bloodshed 
and riot. On one occasion of this kind, in November, 1641, thirteen 
of the colonists, fearing the outcome of events, addressed a letter to the 
Massachusetts government. They stated how the endeavor to enforce 
a decision upon one Francis AVeston had been frustrated by the riotous 
action of Samuel Gorton and his company, and ended by imploring 
the governor, "for the sake of humanity and mankind to lend us a 
neighborlike helping hand". The reply from Massachusetts was that 
"except they did submit themselves to some jurisdiction, either Ply- 
mouth or ours, we had no calling or warrant to interpose in their con- 
tentions".^ Fortunately this impolitic action of a few inhabitants of 
Providence was not productive of any evil results. 

It was only a few months later that the harmful precedent thus set 
was followed, but with much more pernicious consequences. In Sep- 
tember, 1642, William Arnold, William Carpenter, Robert Cole and 
Benedict Arnold, all of whom had purchased land near Paw- 
tuxet, subjected themselves to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. - 
The reasons assigned by Governor Winthrop in accepting the sub- 
jection thus offered were "partly to secure these men from unjust vio- 
lence, and partly to draw in the rest in those parts either under 
ourselves or Plymouth," and because "the place was likely to be of 
use to us, especially if we should have occasion of sending out against 
any Indians of Narragansett, and likewise for an outlet into the Nar- 
ragansett Bay". The effect of this treachery of the Arnold party 
upon the weak little settlement can readily be perceived. The new 
subjects of Massachusetts being bound to obey the laws of that colony, 
did not scruple to evade any impositions put upon them by the Provi- 
dence government. The legal aspects of the case do not seem to have 
had much weight at that day. It is indeed difficult to conceive how 
the Bay Colony could accept jurisdiction over land outside of the 
bounds of their patent, or how the Pawtuxet men could violate the 

'The address is in 3 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. i, 2; and the reply in Winthrop, 
ii, 59. 

=There is an excellent summary of the subjection of Arnold in Paine's 
Denial of the charges of forgery, pp. 28-37. From this account it seems clear 
that the Arnold party hoped, by placing themselves under Massachusetts, to 
get their deeds from Pumham and Sacononoco confirmed. These two Indians, 
in 1643, submitted themselves to Massachusetts, and if it could be proved that 
they were independent of the Narragansetts, their deeds would hold good over 
lands previously granted by Miantonomi to Williams. The Arnold party 
apparently cared not to what jurisdiction they were subject, as long as they 
were confirmed in the ownership of their lands. 



36 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

agreements with their Providence neighbors in submitting to a foreign 
control without forfeiting their lands to the town. The conflicting 
jurisdiction thus set up in the infant colony was greatly injurious to 
the community and proved to be a source of continual aggravation for 
several years.^ 

In thus tracing the land purchases and the early government of the 
Providence Colony, we have omitted all reference to many matters of 
great importance to the little settlement. Land controversies and 
ineflfective political organization were not the only sources of trou- 
ble. Religious dissensions, scarcity of provisions,- and constant fear 
of an Indian uprising, all combined to threaten the very existence of 
the town. Perhaps the last of these causes, from its actual impor- 
tance and possible magnitude, was the most productive of danger, not 
only to Providence but to all New England as well. In July, 1636, a 
band of Pequot Indians had attacked a party of traders at Block 
Island and murdered one John Oldham, of AVatertown. The Massa- 
chusetts authorities sent John Endicott with a body of ninety men to 
avenge this murder. After touching at Block Island, he successfully 
carried the expedition into the very heart of the Pequot country. This 
exasperated the Indians so much that they determined to form a league 
against the English and drive them from the country. To this end 
they began negotiations with the powerful Narragansetts, who, had 
they joined in the attack, would have brought about terrible massa- 
cres, if not the total annihilation of the whites. At this critical junc- 
ture, Roger Williams, earnestly requested by the Boston magistrates, 
stepped forward. The result of his labors— what Bancroft calls "the 
most intrepid and most successful achievement of the whole war" — 
can best be told in his own words : 

"The Lord helped me immediately to put my life into my hand, and 
scarce acquainting my wife, to ship myself all alone in a poor canoe, 
and to cut through a stormy wind, with great seas, every minute in 
hazard of life, to the Sachem's house. Three days and nights my 
business forced me to lodge and mix with the bloody Pequod ambas- 
sadors, whose hands and arms, methought, wreaked with the blood of 

'It was not until 1658 that the Arnold party, upon their own petition, were 
granted discharge from subjection to Massachusetts. It is a significant fact 
that Benedict Arnold had in the year before been elected president of the 
Rhode Island Colony, having renounced his allegiance to the Bay government. 

=This fact is noted by James Brown, in an early MS. account of the settle- 
ment of Providence (in the possession of the R. I. Hist. Soc.) ; also that a cow 
then sold for £22, and that a feast consisted of a "boiled bass without any 
butter". 



The Founding of Providence. 37 

my countrymen, murdered and massacred by them on the Connecticut 
River, and from whom I could not but nightly look for their bloody 
knives at my own throat also. When God wondrously preserved me, 
and helped me to break to pieces the Pequod's negotiation and design, 
and to make and promote and tinish, by many travels and charges, the 
English league with the Narragansetts and Mohegans against the 
Pequods, ' '^ 

In October, 1636, Miantonomi went to Boston and concluded with 
the Bay government a formal alliance against the Pequots, both 
parties reposing the utmost confidence in Williams as mediator and 
interpreter. The Pequots, foiled in their attempt to win over the 
Narragansetts, determined to prosecute the war unaided. The details 
of this struggle, no part of which, thanks to the interposition of 
Williams, took place on Rhode Island soil, are recounted in every 
history and need not be alluded to here. The labors of AVilliams did 
not end with his procuring an Indian league. He entertained the 
Massachusetts companies in Providence, established a friendship be- 
tween the soldiers and the Narragansetts, while the scores of letters 
that passed between him and Winthrop show that a large part of his 
time for two years was spent acting as interpreter and also as the 
medium of intercourse between the Bay and the army. The aid of 
Williams in this struggle cannot be too lightly passed over, and the 
vain attempt of the Plymouth Colony in later years to recognize these 
services only serves to accentuate to what an extent religious antipathy 
could go.- 

As has already been said, religious discord was another source of 
trouble in the struggling colony. Religious enthusiasts and exiles 
who, from varying reasons, had departed from a stern, theocratic 
rule could scarcely hold harmonizing opinions in theology. The first 
recorded case of conflict arose from the action of one Joshua Verin, 
who tried to restrain his wife from listening to Roger Williams's ser- 
mons. Winthrop narrates the particulars of the incident,^ but either 

^Letter to Major Mason, 1670, in Narr. Club. Puhl. vi, 338. For Williams's 
part in this war we have to depend upon his own letters, chiefly to Winthrop. 
Arnold notes {Hist, of R. I., i, 91) that no early annalist except Winthrop 
acknowledges his aid. For the early histories of the war see Winsor, Narr. 
and Crit. Hist, iii, 348. 

-In his letter to Mason, Williams relates that Governor Winthrop "and 
some other of the Council motioned and it was debated, whether or no I had 
not merited, not only to be recalled from banishment, but also to be honored 
with some remark of favor". The silence of the Court records upon the ques- 
tion amply testifies how it was received. 

^History of N. E. i, 283. 



38 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

from his own enmity toward religions toleration or from the un trust- 
worthiness of his informer, attempts to justify Verin in the matter. 
The Town of Providence, however, thinking that duty to God tran- 
scended all mortal obligations, on May 21, 1638, ordered "that Joshua 
Verin, upon the breach of a covenant for restraining of the liberty of 
conscience, shall be withheld from the liberty of voting till he shall 
declare the contrary".^ If we may trust Williams's testimony in the 
matter, Verin might well have been punished for the civil crime of 
wifebeating. However this may be. his action was surely in violation 
of the principles upon which Providence was founded, and would no 
more be countenanced by us than it was by these early legislators. 

Although several of the early companions of Roger Williams fled to 
escape religious persecution, it did not necessarily follow that they 
intended the erection of a church of their own. There was dissension 
and often apathy in religious as well as political matters. As Henry 
C. Dorr justly remarks, "the majority manifested little sympathy 
with Williams, except in his negative opinion as to what the state 
should not do".- Toward the close of 1638 several of the more rigid 
separatists who favored anabaptism removed from the Bay Colony to 
Providence. They seem to have been the deciding influence in the 
formation of a church there, for AVinthrop, under date of INIarch 16, 
1639, records the following: "A sister of Mrs. Hutchinson, the wife 
of one Scott, being affected with anabaptistry, and going last year to 
live at Providence, Mr. Williams was taken (or rather emboldened) 
by her to make open profession thereof, and accordingly was baptized 
by one Holyman, a poor man, late of Salem. Then Mr. Williams re- 
baptized him and some ten more".^ This baptism had been generally 

^Prov. Rec. i, 4. Williams, in a letter to Winthrop of May 22, 1638 {Narr. 
Club, vi, 95), writes: "We have been long afflicted with a young man, boister- 
ous and desperate, Philip Verin's son of Salem, who as he hath refused to hear 
the word with us (which we molested him not for) this twelvemonth, so 
because he could not draw his wife, a gracious and modest woman, to the 
same ungodliness with him, he hath trodden her under foot tyrannically and 
brutishly; which she and we long bearing, though with his furious blows she 
went in danger of life, at the last the major vote of us discard him from our 
civil freedom, or disfranchise." 

"R. I. Hist. Soc. Coll. ix, 10. 

'Winthrop, 1, 293. S. S. Rider in Book Notes (xiii, 121) asserts, with 
considerable degree of probability that "Winthrop's story lacks a sufficiently 
sound basis for a fact; and possesses too much inherent improbability for 
the truth." For the. names of the original members, see 250th anniversary 
of the First Baptist Church, p. 37. Other references to a history of the church 
are John Stanford's account in Rippon's Baptist Register, 1801-02, p. 793; 
Edwards' Hist, of Baptists in R. I. (R. I. Hist. Soc. Coll. v, 6) ; H. Jackson, 
Churches in R. I.; Hist, of the First Baptist Church, 1877; H. M. King, The 



J 



The Founding op Providence. 39 

regarded as the establishment of the first Baptist church in the New 
World. Williams remained as their leader but three or four months, 
and then, on account of his dissent in regard to baptism, left it and 
became a "Seeker". But the church survived, chose another leader, 
and slowly increased with the community. The subsequent history of 
this church cannot be traced at present ; suffice it to say that it endured 
later schisms, exercising no voice in the civil conduct of the commu- 
nity, and entirely repudiating the Puritan prophecy that no Christian 
society could flourish amidst religious liberty. 

The Providence colony was now sufficiently well grown to give 
promise of lasting political durability. The great principle estab- 
lished by its founder was continually bringing newcomers to its soil, 
who, even if they did not agree with Williams's idea of government, 
could there worship God as their consciences persuaded them. Their 
coming was a source of constantly added strength to the little settle- 
ment, and that which was Rhode Island 's gain was Massachusett 's loss. 
As Charles Francis Adams has well remarked, "In reality, Massachu- 
setts missed a great destiny ; it ' like the base Judean, threw a pearl 
away, richer than all his tribe'; for both Roger Williams and young 
Sir Harry Vane were once part of- the Commonwealth — they had lain, 
as it were, in its hand. The stones which the builders refused became 
the headstones of the corner".^ But, although the settlement was a 
political community within itself, on account of its lack of chartered 
powers, it could not obtain recognition from its neighbors. It was 
opportune, if not necessary, that the "squatter's sovereignty" should 
be replaced by the sanction of royal authority. 

Mother Church, and the historical discourses of W. Hague, S. L. Caldwell, 
S. G. Arnold, and H. M. King. Arnold, Hist, of R. I., i, 108, summarizes the 
dispute with the Baptist Church at Newport as to priority. Henry M. King, 
in the Baptism of Roger Williams, successfully contradicts the theory that 
Williams was baptized by sprinkling instead of immersion. 
^Massachusetts ; its historians and its history, pp. 25, 27. 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE ANTINOMIANS AND AQUEDNECK. 

Not quite a year had passed after the banishment of Williams when 
another movement dared to oppose the soul-crushing theocracy of 
Massachusetts, and like its predecessor, by persecution and banish- 
ment, was speedily suppressed. And again Rhode Island was to be 
the gainer. Only the briefest account of this controversy— commonly 
called the Antinomian movement— can here be given. ^ It was in 
September, 1634, that there arrived at Boston a woman endowed with 
unusual intellectual power and emboldened with an energy that 
amounted almost to fanaticism. At her home in England she had 
listened to the sermons of Cotton and her brother-in-law, John Wheel- 
wright, and had now come to enjoy again the preaching of the former. 
She soon began to hold at her house religious meetings for women, 
which, from her nimble wit and courageous attitude on religious ques- 
tions, became very popular. By the spring of 1636 her influence, 
especially in Boston, seemed to be at its height. In May of that year 
she had been joined by her brother-in-law, Wheelwright, and during 
the same month there had been elected to the office of governor a man 
whose political prestige was eventually to give great aid to her cause. 
This was Henry Vane, a young Englishman, whose high birth, brilliant 
intellectual powers, and ability in diplomacy make him a dazzling 
figure against the dull Puritan background. Winthrop tells u.s that 
he "forsook the honors and preferments of the court, to enjoy the 
ordinances of Christ in their purity here". If so, his life in New 
England, as a recent English commentator has remarked, must have 
been a "continuous disenchantment". 

It was just about at this time that the popularity of Mistress 

'This movement has been treated in a most satisfactory manner by C. F. 
Adams in his Three Episodes of Mass. History. Reference should also be 
made to G. E. Ellis, Puritan Age in Mass.; B. Adams, Emancipation of Mass.; 
and Publications of the Prince Society, vol. 22. There is an enumeration of 
authorities in Mem. Hist, of Boston, i, 176. 



The Antinomians and Aquedneck. 41 

Hutchinson began to assume a dangerous attitude. Actuated by relig- 
ious enthusiasm, she occasionally drew invidious comparisons between 
certain ministers, saying that "none of them did preach the covenant 
of free grace, but INlaster Cotton, and that they have not the seal of the 
Spirit, and so were not ministers of the New Testament".^ This 
"covenant of grace", which was to form the war-cry of the Antino- 
mians in their struggle, and which was destined to lead them into much 
unintelligible and profitless discussion over doctrine, related to the 
evidencing of justification. How was a man to justify himself before 
his God? By his "faith", or by his "works"? The Hutchinson 
party denied the intrinsic efficacy of good works as means of salvation, 
and claimed to be living under a "covenant of grace", all the time 
denouncing their opponents as being made under a "covenant of 
works". The contention over these two doctrines— of which. Win- 
throp keenly remarked, "no man could tell, except some few who 
knew the bottom of the matter, where any difference was "^—divided 
the whole community into two religious parties. Governor Vane, 
Cotton, and all but half a dozen of the Boston Church espoused the 
cause of Mrs. Hutchinson and Wheelwright. Arrayed against them 
were Winthrop, AA^lson— the pastor of the Boston Church— and vir- 
tually all the clergy in the colony outside of Boston. The excitement 
was intense ; disputations were frequent, each side accusing the other 
of holding heresies and disturbing the peace of Church and State. 

At this juncture, in December, 1636, an incident occurred which 
gave more of a political bearing to the controversy and placed the 
character of Vane in a light not entirely to his credit. One day he 
called the court together and announced that he nuist immediately 
return to England to attend to certain private affairs. A sorrowful 
remonstrance greeting this communication, he asserted that he would 
have hazarded all private business, had he not foreseen the danger 
liable to arise from the prevalent religious dissensions, of which it had 
been scandalously imputed that he was the cause. The court silently 
acquiesced to his departure and made arrangements for the election 
of his successor. But again he changed his mind. After a day's 
reflection, in which he listened to the persuading influence of some of 
the Boston congregation, he declared that he was an obedient child of 
the church and did not dare to go away. So the whole affair held over 

^Welde, Short Story, p. 36. 

^Winthrop, i, 213. Antinomianism, literally Interpreted, meant a denial 
of the obligations of moral law. The opponents of Antinomianism were 
called legalists. 



42 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

until the next May election. Vane's vacillating conduct on this occa- 
sion has greatly prejudiced his reputation. Whether he had grown 
weary of religious dissension, or really feared danger to the colony, or 
was merely testing the strength of his position is all a matter of sur- 
mise. Surely no one of these reasons is becoming to the conduct of a 
true statesman. 

The controversy now began to assume the attitude of bitter partisan- 
ship. The court, the majority of whom were legalists, interfered and 
convoked the ministers to give their advice. Debates, disputations, 
and exhortations followed in quick succession, all of which only served 
to spread the doctrines more widely. In March, 1637, the court found 
Wheelwright guilty of sedition and contempt in a fast day sermon 
preached a few weeks before. The sermon — which is fortunately pre- 
served — does not show the least evidence of either sedition or contempt. 
That a verdict could be brought from such unwarrantable charges only 
shows how far these ecclesiastical dictators could pervert justice in 
order to suppress opposition to their ideas. As soon as the judgment 
was announced, the Boston church signed a respectful petition in 
Wheelwright's behalf, which noble remonstrance was later to subject 
them to unreasonable severity. 

The election of May, 1637, resulted in the choice of Winthrop as 
governor and the implacable Dudley as deputy-governor. Vane was 
entirely displaced, as Avere also his followers, Coddington^ and Dum- 
mer; but Boston retaliated by electing both Vane and Coddington as 
deputies. The legalists, however, were now strongly in power, and 
henceforth took the initiative. By their first act the court ordered 
that no person should entertain any emigrant for more than three 
weeks without sanction of the magistrates. This flagrant law was 
aimed directly at the Antinomians, who were expecting fresh adher- 
ents to their party from England, and occasioned so much outcry that 
Winthrop thought it necessary to publish an apology. In this he 
claimed the abstract right of the state to exclude those who disturbed 
its peace, but in admitting that religious differences were the cause 
of the legislation, rather invalidated his argument. Vane, after a 
somewhat weak reply to Winthrop, sailed for England. 

^William Coddington, who was later to figure so prominently in Rhode 
Island affairs, was also one of the most prominent men in the Boston Colony. 
For his early life see Adams, Three Episodes, p. 546; Austin's Geneal. Diet, 
of R. I., p. 276; N. E. Hist, and Geneal. Reg. xxviii, 13, xxxvi, 138; and Mag. of 
N. E. History, i, 228. The oft-quoted statement that he owned the first brick 
house in Boston originated in his Demonstration of True Love, p. 4 (quoted in 
Palfrey i, 328); although the fact that it was brick is traceable only to 
Callender, Hist. Discourse, p. 3 of preface. 



The Antinomians and Aquedneck. 43 

With this powerful friend of Antinomianism out of the way, the 
legalists set about to crush out their opponents. In August, 1637, a 
synod of all the divines, held at Cambridge to settle the existing differ- 
ences, passed condemnation on eighty-two "erroneous opinions" and 
nine "unwholesome expressions". Cotton, one of the strongest allies 
of the Hutchinson party, now saw how the stream was flowing and, 
desirous to recover "his former splendour throughout New England", 
deserted to the stronger party. The rest of the leaders, however, 
remained unconquered, and the question now^ was chiefly as to the 
mode of applying the punishment. 

The court, at its November session, summoned Wheelwright, and 
upon the strength of his conviction in March, sentenced him to banish- 
ment. So, on a bitter winter's day, with deep snows upon the ground, 
he journeyed forth to the Piscataqua, the first of his party to undergo 
bodily suffering for voicing his religious opinions. A pretext for 
punishing the other leaders was found in the petition which several 
of Wheehvright's friends had presented in his behalf eight months 
before. The petitioners were given their choice of disavowing their 
act or bearing the consequences. Aspinwall was banished ; Coggeshall, 
who had merely approved the petition, was disfranchised ; Coddington 
and nine others were given leave to depart within three months or 
abide the action of the court; others were disfranchised and fined; 
and somewhat later seventy-one more persons were disarmed. 

The trial and subsequent fate of Anne Hutchinson, the author of the 
w^hole controversy, forms a fitting sequel to these deeds of harshness 
and oppression. It was before this same November court that the 
poor woman, feeble in health, but undaunted in courage, was brought 
to answer to the various charges of calumny and contempt and heresy. 
The doings of this assembly read more like the proceedings of a Spanish 
inquisitorial court than the action of a body of law-loving Englishmen. 
The presiding justice, attorney-general, and foreman of the jury were 
one and the same person; the witnesses for the prosecution were 
allowed to testify without oath ; and the few who dared to speak in the 
defendant's favor were speedily intimidated. But through it all she 
remained firm and unshaken. Not a loophole did she leave, whereby 
her opponents could trump up a charge against her, until on the 
second day of her trial she broached the doctrine of iuAvard revelation, 
claiming "herself to be inspired. Eagerly did the prosecution seize 
upon this slender thread, and cried out against the perniciousness of 
her words. It was then that Coddington arose and exclaimed, " I do 
not for my own part see any equity in the court in all your proceed- 



44 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

ings. Here is no law of God that she hath broken, nor any law of the 
country that she hath broke, and therefore deserves no censure".^ 
But this was a case where appeals to justice could be of no avail. The 
trial was a mere formality, the verdict of guilty being a precluded 
result. The sentence of banishment was passed, but execution was 
postponed until spring. In the mean while it was hoped that she 
would recant. Her courage, however, stood her in good stead, and in 
spite of the persecution of several ministers, in spite of excommunica- 
tion from her church, she remained unshaken and gloried in her suffer- 
ings. In March, 1638, the execution of the sentence was issued, and 
the arch-heretic departed into exile, never again to return to the scene 
of her former triumphs. 

Thus ended the Antinomian movement. Giving as an excuse "politi- 
cal necessity", the legalists had frightened the timid into submission, 
and persecuted and banished those who dared to offer opposition. 
And what had the Antinomians accomplished? They had brought 
only harm upon themselves and left the clergy in a more unassailable 
position than before. Charles Francis Adams well summarizes their 
movement when he says, ' ' There was need enough for reform ; but, to 
be useful and healthy, reform had to come more slowly and from 
another direction. Neither did Anne Hutchinson or her following 
hold forth any promise of better things. Theirs was no protest against 
existing abuses. On the contrary, in their religious excesses, they out- 
did even the clergy — they out-heroded Herod. Their overthrow, ac- 
cordingly, so far as it was peculiar to themselves and did not involve 
the overthrow of great principles of religious toleration and political 
reform, was no matter for regret".^ As for the Puritan prosecutors, 
their proceedings are less defensible than in the case of Williams, 
whose arguments more closely touched the civil power. Persecution 
was one of the precepts of their faith, and if presumed political 
necessities compelled them to choose between justice and oppression, 
they invariably chose the latter. Thus they established a religious 
absolutism which was to remain all-powerful for forty years. But 
this so-called period of tranquillity was really a period of torpor, in 
which superstition and bigotry repressed every form of a social and 
intellectual activity. As a keen English writer has justly remarked,^ 
"The spiritual growth of Massachusetts withered under the shadow 
of dominant orthodoxy; the colony was only saved from mental 
atrophy by its vigorous political life." 

^Prince 8oc. Publ. xxii, 280. 
^Three Episodes, p. 574. 
"Doyle, Puritan Colonies, i, 140. 



The Antinomians and Aquedneck. 45 

To the evidenced desire of the Massachusetts government to be rid 
of a body of its most intelligent and prosperous colonists, Rhode 
Island owes the origin of Avhat for a century and a half was her leading 
town. In the late autumn of 1637 several of the Antinomians, realiz- 
ing that if they thought as their consciences dictated they could never 
live at peace with the Puritan clergy, decided to begin a settlement 
elsewhere. Accordingly, they deputed John Clarke and a few others 
to seek out a place. The cold of the ensuing winter inducing them to 
go toward the south, they embarked one day in the early spring, with 
but little idea as to their eventual destination. But the narrative of 
their journey is best told in Clarke's own words. ^ "So, having sought 
the Lord for direction, we all agreed that while our vessel was passing 
about a large and dangerous Cape, yve would cross over by land, having 
Long Island and Delaware Bay in our eye for the place of our resi- 
dence ; so to a town called Providence we came, which Avas begun by 
one M. Roger Williams ... by whom we were courteously and 
lovingly received, and with whom we advised about our design ; he 
readily presented two places before us in the same Narragansett Bay, 
the one upon the main called Sowwames, the other called then Acqued- 
neck, now Rode-Island". The narrative goes on to relate how Will- 
iams, Clarke and two others journeyed to Plymouth to find out 
whether the lands in question were claimed by that government. The 
answer was "that Sowwames was the garden of their Patent, and the 
flour in the garden", but if Aquedneck was decided upon, "they 
should look upon us as free, and as loving neighbors and friends should 
be assistant unto us upon the main". 

Since the local sachem was tributary to Canonicus and Miantonomi, 
it was from these chiefs that Aquedneck had to be obtained.^ On 
March 24, 1637, the whole island, together with the grass on several 
smaller islands, was conveyed to William Coddington and his friends 
for forty fathoms of white peage and a few extra gratuities to local 
sachems.^ About a fortnight previous they had organized themselves 
into a political body, according to the following compact: "The 7th 
day of the first month, 1638. We whose names are underwritten do 
here solemnly in the presence of Jehovah incorporate ourselves into a 

'John Clarke's III Newes from New England, 1652, reprinted in ^ Mass. 
Hist. Soc. Coll. ii, 1. 

=Roger Williams records that "It was not price or money that could have 
purchased Rhode Island, but 'twas obtained by that love and favour which 
that honored gentleman, Sir Harry Vane and myself, had with the great 
Sachem Miantonomo." Narr. Club Pvbl. vi, 305. 

'The deed and receipts for gratuities are in R. I. Col Rec. i, 45. 



46 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Bodie Politik and as he shall help, will submit our persons, lives and 
estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords, and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of his given us 
in his holy word of truth, to be guided and judged thereby. "^ 

Having taken this initial step, they elected Coddington "judge", 
or chief magistrate, he engaging to "do justice and judgment impar- 
tially according to the laws of God ' '. They also appointed a secretary 
and clerk. All these preparatory proceedings had been enacted at 
Providence. They now were ready for settlement, and chose as the 
most desirable situation the land around the cove at the northeasterly 
end of the island.^ Here they planted, enacting as their first law 
that none could become inhabitants except those who should be "re- 
ceived in by the consent of the Bodie and do submit to the Govern- 
ment". During the ensuing year they passed many local acts, making 
provision for the maintenance of peace and order, for military organ- 
ization, for the location of a meeting-house, for validating land titles 
and for many other needs — all somewhat in contrast to the loose and 
inefficient enactments of the earlier settlement at the head of the Bay. 

Before the settlement was a year old there came a slight change in 
the governmental organization. The original compact had provided 
for a perfect democracy, in which all laws were passed by the general 
body of freemen, of whom the judge was merely the presiding officer. 
But now, as at Providence, an approach toward delegation of power 
was deemed expedient. On January 2, 1639, it was enacted that the 
judge, assisted by his three "elders", should govern "according to the 
general rule of the word of God". Once every quarter they were to 
report to the assembled freemen, whose power of veto is thus quaintly 

^72. I. Col. Rec. i, 52. It is subscribed to by Wm. Coddington, John Clarlte, 
Wm. Hutchinson, Jr., John Coggeshall, Wm. Aspinwall, Samuel Wilbore, John 
Porter, John Sanford, Ed. Hutchinson, Jr., Thos. Savage, Wm. Dyre, Wm. 
Freeborne, Phillip Shearman, John Walker, Richard Carder, Wm. Baulston, 
Ed. Hutchinson, Sr., Henry Bull, and Randall Holden. The Antinomian 
influence upon these first settlers is shown by the fact that all, except Cod- 
dington, Ed. Hutchinson, Jr., and Holden, were named in the disarming act 
of the previous November. (See Mass. Col. Rec. i, ^11.) 

^One of the first orders was that "the Town shall be builded at the 
spring", at the head of the cove, which at that time had a navigable outlet to 
Narragansett Bay on the northern side. The first house-lots, mostly of six 
acres, were laid out on the westerly border of the cove. The remains of the 
settlement could a few years ago be clearly traced; but there is now no house 
or foundation remaining to show where these first settlers planted. The 
Indian name for the place of settlement, and also for the main land opposite, 
was Pocasset (see Callender's Discourse, p. 33). The name Portsmouth was 
agreed upon in July, 1639, although it seems to have been used earlier. (See 
R. I. Col. Rec. i, 71-72.) 



The Antinomians and Aquedneck. - 47 

expressed : "If by the Body or any of them the Lord shall be pleased 
to dispense light to the contrary of what by the Judge and Elders 
hath been determined formerly, that then and there it shall be repealed 
as the act of the Body." This new mode of government lasted but 
four months. During this interval the Coddington faction seem to 
have urged that the officers in power should be granted a larger 
amount of authority. Failing, apparently, to impress the majority 
of the settlers with the wisdom of this course, they determined to build 
another town.^ On April 28, they met at Pocasset and drew the fol- 
lowing instrument : " It is agreed by us whose hands are under writ- 
ten, to propagate a Plantation in the midst of the Island or elsewhere ; 
and doe engage ourselves to bear equall charges, answerable to our 
strength and estates in common ; and that our determinations shall be 
by major voice of judge and elders; the Judge to have a double 
voice. "^ 

The five officers of the little settlement and four others signed this 
compact, and taking the records of the town in their possession, pro- 
ceeded to seek a new plantation. The remainder of the inhabitants, 
thus deprived of their officers and their records, immediately set about 
the organization of a new government. On April 30 they made as 
their first entry on a new record-book the following: "We whose 
names are underw[ritten acknowledge] ourselves the loyal subje[cts 
of his Majestic] King Charles, and in his na[me do bind our] selves 
into a Civill body Politicke: a[ssenting] unto his lawes according [to 
right and] matters of Justice".^ They then chose William Hutchin- 

^I do not at all agree with Callender and Arnold in assuming that the 
increase of population caused the planting of a new town. Infant settle- 
ments are not often burdened with over-population; nor are there any records 
to show there was a notable increase. Callender dedicated his book to Cod- 
dington's grandson, and for personal reasons could not impute unworthy 
motives to the grandfather; and Arnold simply follows Callender. Codding- 
ton, as we shall see in his later life, strongly believed in centralization of 
power, especially when that power was centralized in him. It is probable 
that there was some tumult in the process of separation, although the evi- 
dence of that fact comes from the pens of Massachusetts writers who would 
have been only too willing to give credence to the slightest rumor of insur- 
rection on the Island. (See Winthrop, i, 295.) The seceders were in the 
minority, but they evidently held the political control in the community. 

^R. I. Col. Rec. i, 87. This compact is signed by Wm. Coddington, Judge; 
Nicholas Easton, John Coggeshall and William Brenton, Elders; William 
Dyer, Clerk; and John Clarke, Jeremy Clarke, Thomas Hazard, and Henry 
Bull. 

^Portsmouth Rec. p. 1. The words within the brackets are supplied to 
complete the sense. The thirty-one names, headed by Wm. Coddington and 
Samuel Gorton, signed to this compact are for the first time rightly given in 
the recently issued Portsmouth records. The names questioned in Arnold 



48 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

son as judge and elected eight assistants.^ Provision was made for a 
quarterly court of trials, with a jury of twelve men, although small 
cases could be tried before the assistants. This was a government 
constructed according to English law — the first in the colony to 
acknowledge allegiance to the king or to provide for an English jury 
trial. It differed widely from the government of the seceders. They 
judged "according to the word of God", which gave to the judge con- 
siderable latitude in Biblical interpretation. The Portsmouth settle- 
ment, although it had the stronger polity and was also stronger numer- 
ically, soon showed its inevitable dependency on the Coddington party. 
Being the natural leaders, they speedily acquired control of the Island. 
The Portsmouth records are henceforth given over to the recording of 
local items ; and the subsequent history of Aquedneck must be traced 
in the doings at Newport. 

Meanwhile, how had the seceders fared? On April 30, only two 
days after the compact, Nicholas Easton came with his two sons to a 
little island, which they named Coaster's Harbor. On the following 
day they arrived at Newport, where they planted and erected the first 
English house. ^ It is evident that the rest of the signers immediately 
followed, for on May 16, 1639, they made as their first town order that 
"the Plantation now begun at this Southwest end of the Island, shall 
be called Newport", and that "the Towne shall be built upon both 
sides of the spring, and by the sea-side southward ' '.^ They also made 

i, 133, should be John Sloffe, Wm. Heavens, George Cleare, and John More. 
(See R. I. H. 8. Puhl. vi. 85.) 

^Portsmouth Rec. p. 3. Hutchinson's name, torn off in the mutilated rec- 
ord, is preserved by Winthrop, i, 295. The eight (not seven) assistants were 
Wm. Baulston, John Porter, John Sanford, Wm. Freeborn, John Walker, 
Philip Sherman, Wm. Aspinwall, and one other, probably Adam Mott. 

"The source of the Easton narrative is in a diary noted on the margin of 
Morton's N. E. Memorial. It is printed in Bull's Memoir (in Newport Mer- 
cury, Dec. 26, 1857), and in Narr. Hist. Reg. viii, 240. 

m. I. Col. Rec. i, 88. Bull, in his Memoir of R. I. (R. I. Hist. Mag. vii, 
191) relates the tradition of settlement as follows: The land fronting on the 
harbor where Thames street now is, was then an impenetrable swamp, which 
circumstance so discouraged the settlers that they concluded to locate the 
town near Easton's Beach; but on further survey, they found the roadstead 
there unsafe for shipping, which obliged them to resort again to the spot 
where Newport now stands. Miss E. C. Brenton repeats this tradition (Hist, 
of Brenton' s Neck, p. 5), and adds that the swamp was fired, cleared and 
filled in by the Indians for the gift of a coat with brass buttons. The spring 
in question rose on the west side of Spring street, near the State House, and 
ran northwesterly into the harbor. Home-lots of four acres each, most of 
them extending from Spring street to the bay, were assigned to the proprie- 
tors. The first houses were built in the vicinity of the present Parade, the 
Easton house being on the easterly side of Farewell street, a little west from 
the Friend's Meeting House. The Coddington house, torn down in 1835, was 



The Antinomians and Aquedneck. 49 

the division froin Pocasset on a line five miles north and east from the 
town, and then proceeded to the laying out of their lands. 

Now that the Coddington party had erected a government according 
to their own liking, they decided to draw their Portsmouth comrades 
back into the fold. They appointed commissioners to "negotiate with 
our brethren of Pocasset", and by October 1 thought this project far 
enough advanced to assume practical union. On that date was issued 
a ' ' Catalogue of such who, by the general consent of the Company were 
admitted to be inhabitants of the Island now called Aqueedneck". 
This included lists of Portsmouth and Newport settlers, all of whom, 
according to the record, had ' ' submitted themselves to the Government 
that is or shall be established, according to the word of God therein". 
Whether or not this partnership seemed undesirable to the Pocasset 
"brethren", the action of the Newport body on November 25 is signifi- 
cant. They then made an order concerning courts, prefacing it by 
what is undoubtedly a concession to the Portsmouth principle of 
English allegiance : "In the fourteenth yeare of the Reign of our 
Soveraign Lord King Charles, it is agreed that as natural subjects to 
our Prince, and subject to his Laws, all matters that concern the Peace 
shall be," etc. Two men, furthermore, were appointed to take steps 
about "obtaining a Patent of the Island from his Majestic". They 
styled themselves as "the Body Politicke in the He of Aquethnec", 
and at the same meeting issued further orders to the commissioners 
as to effecting a union with Portsmouth. Their efforts were now 
finally crowned with success. On March 12, 1640, decreed two months 
before as Election Day, the "brethren" came in. The first entry in 
the records on this day reads that William Hutchinson and. the other 
leaders of the neighboring settlement, all mentioned by name, "pre- 
senting themselves, and desiring to be reunited to this body, are readily 
embraced by us". This preliminary proceeding having been settled, 
it was then agreed by "this Bodie united" that the chief magistrate 
of the island should be called governor, and the next deputy-governor, 
and the rest of the magistrates assistants. The governor and two 
assistants w^ere to be chosen in one town, and the deputy and two 
other assistants in the other town. The election resulted in the choice 
of Coddington as governor and William Brenton as deputy-governor.^ 
The union was complete, but the joint signers were not to be equal 

on the north side of Marlborough street, fronting Duke street. Stephen 
Gould, however, in a letter to John Rowland (MS. in R. I. H. S.) stated that 
this house was built about 1670, Coddington's first residence having been near 
Coddington's Cove. 

'For these and other Newport proceedings, see R. I. Col Rec. i, 87-101. 

4 



50 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

partners in the contract. It was the Newport settlement that was 
henceforth to control both the initiative in legislation and the power 
in government. 

Now that the two separated towns were consolidated, the injection 
of the Portsmouth idea of self-governing democracy with its right to 
political existence vested in royal authority, seems to have borne imme- 
diate fruit and rendered dormant any autocratic aspirations of the 
Coddington party. In March, 1641, one year from the date of union, 
it was recorded that ''the Government which this Bodie Politick doth 
attend unto in this Island, and the Jurisdiction thereof, in favor of our 
Prince is a Democracie, or Popular Government ; that is to say, it is in 
the power of the Body of freemen orderly assembled, or the major 
part of them, to make or constitute just laws, by which they will be 
regulated, and to depute from among themselves such ministers as 
shall see them faithfully executed between man and man".^ The 
government thus existed as a democracy until the union of the towns 
into a colony in 1647. In May, 1644, a name was provided for this 
colony in the following words : " It is ordered by this Court, that the 
island commonly called Aquethneck, shall be henceforth called the 
Isle of Rhodes, or Rhode Island. ' '- 

^R. I. Col. Rec. i, 112. This same assembly ordered that a seal — a sheaf 
of arrows with the motto Amor vincet omnia — should be provided for the 
"State". The Newport records exist through 1642, and for one meeting in 
1643 and 1644 respectively. There are no records from 1645 until the meeting 
under the patent in May, 1647. The only record for this interval exists in 
the action of the Court of Trials. These records, which often throw im- 
portant light on the history of the period, are as yet unprinted, Bartlett 
having printed the Colonial Records as far as 1679 from the Gyles copy of 
the assembly records. 

"R. I. Col. Rec. i, 127. The origin of the name of Rhode Island has given 
rise to much discussion. That it was transferred from Block Island, com- 
pared by Verrazano to the Isle of Rhodes; that it came from the Dutch 
"Roode Eylandt," the reddish appearance of a certain island in the Bay 
having been noted by Block; and that the action of the Assembly in 1644 is 
sufficient reason for its origin^have all been advocated as theories. Dr. J. C. 
Kohl sums up all the theories (Mag. Am.. Hist, ix, 81) and adds another — that 
the name was given to immortalize a Mr. Rhodes who might have lived there. 
He makes no preference, however, and assumes that all these theories are 
accountable for the origin. Most authorities favor the Dutch origin, in- 
stancing the fact that the name "Roode Eylandt" occurs in all the early 
Dutch maps; but they overlook the fact that the name does not occur on the 
earliest Dutch maps, and that the first to have the name was the Visscher 
map of 1650-56 (see Asher's Bibliog. Essay, 2d suppl. p. 17). It is significant 
that this was nearly a decade after the island had been expressly named Isle 
of Rhodes, or Rhode Island. The first Dutch use of the name is in 1645, and 
then it is called Rhode Island and not Roode Eylandt (O'Callaghan's Coll. 
of Hist. Mss. p. 98). In all subsequent references until the publication of 
the Visscher map, it is called by the English name or else "Island of Nahi- 



The Antinomians and Aquedneck. 51 

The social and religious, as well as the political, framework of the 
Newport settlement was already in a far better condition than at 
Providence. Although a few of the many slanders of their INIassachu- 
setts neighbors may have been true of the earlier settlement, they could 
scarcely apply to Aquedneck. The Boston magistrates had a woeful 
habit of treating as heretics and atheists all those who differed from 
them in the non-essentials of religion ; and the Antinomian exiles 
formed no exception to this rule. All their religious endeavors were 
but new broachings of heresy, and the smallest of petty crimes were 
taken as symptoms of sure disorder. But, as we shall see, the Aqued- 
neck settlers were as watchful of their spiritual welfare as their former 
brethren of the Bay, and were certainly far more advanced in solving 
the problem of true religion. 

At Portsmouth we have seen that one of their first acts was to pro- 
vide for the location of a meeting-house. Although this place of wor- 
ship was undoubtedly not then erected, it is certain that they held 
religious meetings, as Mr. Clarke is described by Winthrop as "a 
preacher to those of the island ' '} This same author, writing in May, 
1639, says, "They also gathered a church in a very disordered way; 
for they took some excommunicated persons, and others who were 
members of the church at Boston and not dismissed".- This church, 

cans" (as in the Hartgers map, 1651). These facts lead to the conclusion 
that the origin of the name Rhode Island, as decreed by the Newport Assem- 
bly in May, 1644, was not all due to the Dutch "Roodt Eylandt", which prob- 
ably owed its origin to the English name. Roode Eylandt, moreover, is 
merely the Dutch equivalent for the English name, so far as pronunciation 
Is concerned. It has already been noted (p. 9) that Block's "little reddish 
island" applied to an island in the western part of the bay, and not to Aqued- 
neck. S. S. Rider, in a review of Kohl's theories (Book Notes, vii, 29, 37) 
clearly disposes of the Dutch etymology, and shows that all the historical 
facts point toward a Greek origin. Roger Williams in a letter of 1637 (Narr. 
Chib. Publ. vi, 18) mentions "Aquedneck, called by us Rhode Island, at the 
Narragansett's mouth";- and in a letter of 1666 (R. I. H. 8. Publ. viii, 152) he 
says, "Rhode Island, in the Greek language, is an He of Roses". 

^Winthrop. p. 271, under date of Sept., 1638. Callender's assumption (p. 
63) that the meeting-house was built is merely an inference from the records, 
disproved by subsequent facts. 

-Winthrop, p. 297. This Puritan opinion, as Arnold remarks, "will not 
be held to militate against the piety or prudence of our ancestors". That this 
church was not organized, but merely a religious gathering, is proved by the 
statement of Francis Hutchinson, in July, 1640, desiring from the Boston 
church dismission "to God and the word of his grace, seeing he knew of 
no church there [at Portsmouth] to be dismissed to" (Ellis, Anne Hutchin- 
son, p. 338), and also of Lechford, in 1641, who says: "At the other end of 
the island there is another towne called Portsmouth, but no Church: there is 
a meeting of some men, who there teach one another, and call it Prophesie." 
(Plaine Dealing, p. 41.) 




GOVERNOR WILLIAM CODDINGTON. 
From a Copy of the Original in the Redwood Library, Newport. 



The Antinomians and Aquedneck. 53 

which lost the best part of its strength upon the secession of its officers, 
was Congregational in its tenets. The Portsmouth settlers, says Cal- 
lender, "were Puritans of the highest form". They had emigrated 
from Massachusetts through dissent as to the evidencing of justifica- 
tion, and were now, as then, at one with their former brethren on most 
points of doctrine. 

These same Congregational ideas were doubtless also held by the 
early Newport seceders,as anabaptism had not yet made much headway 
on the Island. At Newport, however, there was more of a semblance 
of church organization than at Portsmouth. Coddington, Dyer, and 
Coggeshall, according to. a Boston record of 1640, had "gathered 
themselves into church fellowship 'V being officiated over by Dr. John 
Clarke and Robert Lenthall. In August, 1641, a contention over some 
points of doctrine created a schism, and although the records of the 
proceedings are somewhat misty, it would seem that one side, headed 
by Coddington, embraced views later taken up and held by them as 
Quakers, while the other side, led by Clarke, united to form a Baptist 
church in 1644.- 

Enough has been said to show that the Aquedneck settlers were not 
neglectful of their spiritual welfare. That they were equally regard- 
ful of the religious faith of others who perhaps dissented from their 
mode of worship is manifested by their acts protecting the rights of 
conscience. In March, 1641, the Court ordered that "none be account- 
ed a delinquent for Doctrine ; provided, it be not directly repugnant 
to the Government or laws established", and at the following session 
in September it was enacted that "the law made concerning Libertie 
of Conscience in point of Doctrine is perpetuated". It is true that 
these laws, so contrary to the prevailing spirit of the age, permitted 
enthusiasts, visionaries, and fanatics to live and work and talk side by 
side with orthodox thinkers ; but it was precisely the absence of such 
laws that induced these settlers to leave England and later Massachu- 
setts. They had no intention of allowing posterity to belittle them 
for denying the free discussion of religious problems— the very prin- 
ciple for which they themselves had contended. 

'Keayne MS. in Prince Soc. Pubh xxii, 401; also Winthrop, i, 329. The 
Keayne MS. reports the proceedings of a commission sent by the Boston 
church to reclaim their brethren on the Island. It is needless to say that 
the delegation received little satisfaction. 

=Winthrop ii, 40, enumerates the causes of the schism; see also Arnold i, 
151. Lechford's MS. draft of his Plaine Dealing (see Trumbull's edition, p. 
94) should be consulted in this particular. For the traditional date of 1644 
as the founding of the Baptist Church, see Comer's statement (quoted in 
Jackson, Churches in R. I. p. 95), and Callender's Discourse, p. 63. 



54 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

In their provisions for the execution and recognition of the arm of 
the law, there exists fully enough evidence to vindicate the Aqued- 
neek colonists from any aspersions of their Massachusetts neighbors. If 
their Boston brethren asserted that they "denied all magistracy", they 
could well retort that they never called in the clergy to pass judgment 
on civil offenses. Scarcely a New England community, while in its 
infancy, provided so careful and liberal a framework for the 
execution of justice. "We have seen how the Portsmouth settlers, at 
the time of the separation, organized a quarterly court, with an 
English jury trial. Those at Newport soon followed suit. Although, 
their small number did not require at first any regular court organiza- 
tion, yet, in 1640, the second year of their settlement, we find estab- 
lished an orderly judicial system, with monthly courts, right of appeal 
to quarter sessions, and trial by jury.^ The accessories of justice — 
the stocks and the whipping post— were provided for in each town, 
and at Newport a prison was soon built.^ All these provisions for 
the vindication of violated laws and the absolute impartiality of their 
execution stand out somewhat in contrast to the situation at Provi- 
dence, where the decision of such matters by arbitration often led to 
wrangling and disorder. It is through the observation and study of 
these provision-s that we can fully believe John Clarke, when he thus 
describes the condition of the Island in 1652 : "Notwithstanding the 
different understandings and consciences amongst us, without inter- 
ruption we agree to maintain civil justice and judgment, neither are 
there such outrages committed amongst us as in other parts of the 
country are frequently seen."^ 

A study of the foregoing facts should offer convincing proof that 
the Massachusetts imputations of disregard of religion and law cer- 
tainly were not true of Newport. A comparison with the condition of 
affairs existing at Providence will not be amiss at this point, and will 
also serve to show whether the aspersions of the Bay may not possibly 
have applied to the earlier Rhode Island colony. Although the actuat- 
ing impulses of Roger Williams himself were religious, the chief end 

'R. I. Col. Rec. i, 103, 106, 124. 

=From the absence of many Newport records between 1643 and 1647 it is not 
shown when this prison was built, but there is a reference to its existence in 
1649 (R. I. Col. Rec. i, 219.) It is worthy of remark that these provisionary 
laws were not a dead letter, and also that the distinction of rank offered no 
obstacle to their execution. In the same month that two miscreants were 
fined for drunkenness, Nicholas Easton, an assistant, was fined for attending 
public meeting without his weapon. 

mi Newes from N. E. {'t Mass. H. S. Coll. ii, 25.) 



The Antinomians and Aquedneck. 55 

of the majority of his associates was to obtain as much land as possible 
in the new settlement. It was this aim, together with the presence 
of so many varying views on theology, that induced four-fifths of the 
community to take no part in the forming of what for many years was 
the only church in the town. Dissent in religion or else entire absence 
of it were for a long time obstacles to spiritual progress. 

As for courts, there was a much more striking dissimilarity with 
the Newport settlement. Since judicial, as well as legislative, affairs 
were transacted in open town meeting, there was no court organization, 
no judge, no jury. After arbitration had failed, a suit was carried 
before the freemen as a body, where wrangling and lack of defined 
powers often left it to languish for several years. It was exactly this 
method of investing the town meeting with all the different powers of 
government that formed the great point of dissimilitude between the 
two settlements. A democracy, when possessing constitutional safe- 
guards as to representation and division of authority, may be an 
excellent mode of government. But at Providence all possible contin- 
gencies were settled by the general body of freemen, and laws were 
inevitably the results of momentary suggestion. Such a method 
tended to aggravate rather than remedy existing disorders, and the 
government proved inefficient from sheer inability to enforce its own 
decisions. AAlien we consider that to these faults of system were 
added the totally differing political views of the settlers, we can per- 
haps realize the justice of Sir Henry Vane's admonition sent to the 
Providence Colony in 1654 at the request of Roger Williams: "How 
is it there are such divisions amongst you? Such headiness, tumults, 
disorders and injustice ? The noise echoes into the ears of all, as well 
friends as enemies, by every return of ships from those parts. . . . 
Are there no wise men amongst you ? No public, self-denying spirits, 
that at least, upon the grounds of public safety, equity and prudence, 
can find out some way or means of union and reconciliation for you 
amongst yourselves, before you become a prey to common enemies?"^ 

What were the reasons for the contrast in the condition of affairs at 
the two towns? The dangers incident to settlement, such as famine 
and Indian depredations, threatened both alike. The chief cause of 
contrast lay not in any exigencies due to geographical location, nor yet 
in the slight disparity of population that existed, but in the difference 
of motive that inspired the planters of each community. Eoger Will- 
Hams 's first design was to christianize the Indians, and Avhen circum- 

^R. I. Col. Rec. i, 285, under date of Feb. 8, 1654. The Town of Providence 
answered the letter on Aug. 27. 



56 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

stances induced him to alter this plan and lay the foundation of a 
town, he was compelled to make many political concessions to his asso- 
ciates, some of whom cared as little for his opinions as did the people 
of the Bay. The primary settlement, then, was hasty and unprepared. 
Those who arrived later to help in the process of formation and who 
subsequently constituted the bulk of the population, came for the most 
part for two reasons : either as exiles from the Bay for various offenses, 
or else hoping to better an impoverished condition by obtaining profit- 
able grants of land. Neither class was the most desirable to aid in 
the building of a town. 

At Aquedneck, on the other hand, the motive was first and solely 
to form a political and religious community outside of the jurisdiction 
of Massachusetts. With this end always in view, the emigrants decid- 
ed upon a suitable location and carefully laid their plans of settle- 
ment. Although a separation in their number occurred about a year 
after the planting, a reconciliation soon took place and thenceforth 
they were at one on most points of policy. Whatever petty strifes did 
arise — whether over land or debt or some criminal case — were quickly 
settled in orderly constituted courts. Their government possessed 
enough power to enforce execution of its decrees, and if obnoxious 
persons threatened their existence, they did not appeal to Massachusetts 
for aid in solving the difficulty. It is true, that their order, their 
power and their unity were greatly furthered by the fact that as a 
class their social rank was superior to that of their Providence breth- 
ren. Of the latter, Williams was the only one who possessed a liberal 
education or who had attained to any prominence in Massachusetts. 
But at Newport, Coddington, Clarke, Coggeshall, Jeffries, the Hutch- 
insons, were men of wealth, learning and social acquirements, all of 
whom had been highly esteemed at their coming to New England. It 
was undoubtedly due to the influence of these men that such early 
provision was made for public education.^ But in spite of the con- 
trast between the two settlements in their legislatures, their courts, 
their churches, and their schools, the counteracting influence of such 
dissimilar communities undoubtedly worked for good in the end. 

^On August 20, 1640, Robert Lenthal was called by the town to keep a 
"publick school", land being set aside for his use and for the school. This 
school has been claimed to be the first school supported by public taxation in 
America. Although schools were established in Ipswich, Boston, Charles- 
town, and Salem between 1633 and 1637, they were wholly or partially sup- 
ported by private subscription. The school organized at Dorchester in 1639, 
being supported by a tax upon the proprietors, has a well established claim 
to priority. (See summary in Davis, N. E. States, iv, 1833, and W. A. Mowry's 
The first Amer. public school in Education, xxi, 535.) 



Samuel Gorton and the Founding op Warwick. 57 

While the Newport idea tended toAvard conservatism in public 
affairs, the Providence principle injected considerable vitality into 
political assemblies. If a ''vigorous political life", as was once re- 
marked, could save a colony from "mental atrophy", then Rhode 
Island's future was insured forever. 



CHAPTER V. 
SAMUEL GORTON AND THE FOUNDING OF WARWICK. 

The third settlement instituted within the borders of the future 
Rhode Island was Warwick, founded by Samuel Gorton and his follow- 
ers. Like the two preceding settlements, it was primarily formed 
through stress of circumstances— the disinclination of the Puritan 
magistrates to tolerate certain views far too advanced for their narrow 
minds. It was a community, moreover, whose earliest history cen- 
tered closely about the person and fortune of a single man. This man, 
who, through his peculiar political and religious opinions and his 
pertinacity in stating them, has been assailed with much undeserved 
abuse, was Samuel Gorton.^ The story of his life must be briefly told. 
Arriving at Boston in March, 1637, at the age of forty-four, he found 
that colony in the throes of the Antinomian controversy. He must 
have soon observed that this austere commonwealth was no place for 
liberal thinkers, for we find him two months later removed to Ply- 
mouth, where he "gave hopes of proving an useful instrument". But 
little by little, the narrative runs, ' ' he discovered himself to be a proud 
and pestilential seducer, and deeply leavened with blasphemous and 
familistical opinions ".^ At last the Plymouth magistrates became 

'For the chief accounts of Gorton, see under Biography and Warwick in 
Bibliography at end of last volume. The most important original authorities 
are Winslow, Hypocrisie Unmasked, 1646, and a MS. draft in Deane's Gorton; 
Gorton, Simplicities Defence, 1646 (reprinted by Staples as v. 2 of R. I. H. 8. 
Coll.), and his Letter to Morton, 1669 (printed in Force's Tracts, iv, no. 7); 
and Winthrop, Hist, of Neiv England. See also an enumeration of authorities 
by Justin Winsor in Mem. Hist, of Boston, i, 171. 

=Morton, N. E. Memorial, p. 108. The accusations of familism made 
against Gorton by several early writers are, from all evidence now at hand, 
utterly without foundation. None of his writings show that he espoused 
the doctrines of the disciples of Nicholas. He was guilty of this charge only 
in so far as familism could be construed as a general term for heresy. (See 
A. C. Thomas, Family of Love in Haverford College Studies, no. 12.) 



58 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

alarmed, and Gorton had to go the way of the Brownes, of AVilliams, 
of Wheelwriglit, and of ]\Irs. Hutchinson. An excuse to be rid of him 
was soon found. Gorton and his family, upon coming to Plymouth, 
had hired part of the house of one Ralph Smith. This man, alleging 
that Gorton had become ' ' troublesome and insolent ' ', had him brought 
before authority, where he was ordered "to provide other ways for 
himself". Gorton, hoAvever, affirmed that his accuser's enmity was 
due to the fact that Mistress Smith preferred his family services to 
those of her husband. But he was soon to answer to a more serious 
charge. 

A servant in the Gorton family, named Ellin Aldridge, was accused 
of "offensive speeches and carriages", and was threatened with being 
sent out of the colony as a vagabond. Gorton, believing that her only 
offense was smiling in congregation, spoke in her behalf, and defied the 
governor's order that she must depart from the jurisdiction. For this 
contumacy and upon the implied charge that by hiding the servant 
he had "deluded the court", he was bound over to the next General 
Court which was to meet December 4, 1638. He obtained sureties and 
appeared at the appointed time. It was not in Gorton's character to 
be overawed by authority, especiallj'' when he perceived an absence of 
justice or legal formalities in any proceeding. Scarcely had the pros- 
ecutor stated the case, when Gorton stretched out his hand and loudly 
cried, "If Satan will accuse the brethren let him come down from 
Jehoshuah's right hand and stand here" ; and then turned toward the 
people and said, "Ye see, good people, how ye are abused; stand for 
your liberty, and let them not be parties and judges. ' ' True English- 
man that he was, he made a decided objection to the principle which 
allowed his accuser to be likewise his judge. In conformity with the 
rest of the proceedings, it was moved that he should not speak in his 
own behalf at all, and as there was no attorney at hand, this meant 
that he was practically cut off from all means of defense. The trial 
soon came to an end, and he was to pay the penalty for his rashness. 
The Court fined him £20 and sentenced him to depart from Plymouth 
within fourteen days.^ The time of his departure, says Gorton, ' * fell 
to be in a mighty storm of snow as I have seen in the country, my wife 
being turned out of door in the said storm with a young child sucking 
at her breast". Thus, at the hazard of his life, he left Plymouth and 
went to Portsmouth, where the government of the Antinomian exiles 
had been in existence for nearly a year. 

^The authorities for the proceedings at Plymouth are in Winslow (and MS. 
draft in Deane's Gorton), Gorton's Letter to Morton, and Plymouth Rec. 



Samuel Gorton and the Founding of Warwick. 59 

As far as concerns this difference between Gorton and the Plymouth 
magistrates, "there was enough of wrong apparent on both sides to 
excuse in some measure the conduct of each, according as the sympa- 
thies of the writer might incline him to either party ".^ Although his 
heresies undoubtedly operated to his disfavor and increased the sever- 
ity of his sentence, the plea of religious persecution should not bias 
us against the Plymouth Court. The chief cause of their action 
against him was his exasperating independence and his absolute con- 
tempt of their legal modes and forms, all of which combined to make 
his actions seem to them a breach of the civil peace. 

Gorton arrived at Portsmouth in the winter of 1638-39.^ In a 
previous chapter has been described the affairs in that infant settle- 
ment and the influence of Gorton in establishing a more democratic 
form of government, in which allegiance to the king was a controlling 
condition. As long as this government existed Gorton seems to have 
lived peacefully. But when a majority of the Portsmouth settlers 
joined with the Newport government, in March, 1640, he refused to 
enter into the agreement, thinking himself "as fit and able to govern 
himself and family as any that then was upon Rhode Island".^ Soon 
after this, probably toward the very last of the year 1640, he became 
involved in a legal controversy that was to give him a good opportunity 
to display his utter contempt for Newport law, authority and magis- 
trates in general. A servant maid of Gorton's had been brought 
before the court charged with assault upon an old woman and had 
been bound over to the Court of Trials. When the appointed time 
came she did not appear, Gorton answering the summons in her 
behalf. He had his friend John Wickes brought to the stand, and 
both proceeded to deny the authority of the Court and its right to 
existence. After much controversy, Governor Coddington summed 
up the case to the jury and committed Gorton to prison. Upon his 
resistance, the governor said, "All you that own the King, take away 
Gorton and carry him to prison." Whereupon Gorton cried out, "All 
you that own the King, take away Coddington and carry him to 
prison." Soon after this affair he was indicted by the grand jury on 

'^Arnold, i, 166. 

=Callencler, Staples, and Arnold, relying solely upon the R. I. Col. Rec. 
i, 91, infer that Gorton was admitted to Pocasset, June 20, 1638. But the 
Plymouth Records, i, 105, the direct statement of Morton, the inherent evi- 
dence of Gorton's own statement (see Brayton, p. 41) and the absence of his 
name from early Portsmouth records, all go towards establishing the date 
accepted by his later biographers, that of December, 1638. 

^Letter to Morton, p. 8. 



^' 



60 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 

fourteen separate counts, sentenced to be whipped, and banished from 
the island. If all these fourteen charges were true— and Gorton never 
denied them— he must have had something to say to nearly every one 
in the court-room. He termed the magistrates "just asses", said that 
the deputy- governor was "an abettor of riot" and "unfit to make a 
warrant", charged the judges with being corrupt and "wresting wit- 
nesses", called a freeman "jack-an-apes", and made sundry inapt 
remarks about one of the women witnesses. 

But the real issue involved concerned the legal existence of any 
courts of government at all in the settlement. Gorton himself freely 
admits that this was the issue. In none of his writings does he go into 
the details of the trial, which, he says, "the actors may be ashamed 
of ' ' and which he ' ' has not forgotten ' ', but he clearly states his view of 
the general question. "I carried myself obedient to the government 
at Plymouth," he says, "so far as it became me at the least . . . 
for I understood that they had Commission wherein authority was 
derived, which authority I reverenced ; but Rhode Island at that time 
had none, therefore no authority legally derived to deal with me . . 
. . But such fellows as you [Morton] can bring men to the whip- 
ping-post at their pleasure, either in person or name, without fault 
committed or they invested with any authority. Some of the men are 
living on Rhode Island still ; tell them in print what I say and belie 
me not; my ancestors have not been so used, as the records in the 
Heraldry of England can testify. And I would have you know that 
I would rather suffer among some people than be a ruler together with 
them, according to their principles and manner of management of 
their authority. ' '^ 

The above is the sum and substance of Gorton's whole argument 
against a government which he considered illegal and inoperative 
because not vested with royal authority. However acceptable the 
argument may be as an abstract principle, its establishment in practice 
would have proved a source of much confusion and disorder in some 
of our earliest New England colonies. These small settlements had 
necessarily to show some capacity for government and obtain obedi- 
ence to their laws, before they could even think of applying for a royal 
patent. For the settlers of Aquedneck government was a necessity, 
and "the presence of that necessity was alike the authority and the 
limitation upon the authority, to establish and maintain a govern- 
ment ".^ Gorton's independent spirit and plainly- voiced contempt for 

^Letter to Morton, p. 8. 
^Sheffield's Gorton, p. 38. 



:> 



Samuel Gorton and the Founding of Warwick. 61 

those in power probably offended the Aqiiedneck settlers more than his 
political principles. Bnt in spite of his vehemence of expression, it 
should be remembered that he was always sincere in his views. There 
was no power on earth that could compel him to forego a cherished 
principle, and it was precisely this fearless and persistent attitude 
displayed by him and others a few years later, that saved Rhode 
Island from the continued attacks of neighboring colonies. 

Accompanied by a few inhabitants who had become sharers of his 
views, Gorton departed from Aquedneck and went to Providence, 
where he arrived probably in the winter of 1640-41.^ At first he 
gained many proselytes, but by March 8, 1641, we find Roger Williams 
writing despairingly to Winthrop : "Mr. Gorton, having foully 
abused high and low at Aquedneck, is now bewitching and madding 
poor Providence . . . some few and myself do withstand his in- 
habitation and town privileges." On May 25, after the application 
of the Gorton company to be received as townsmen had been once 
denied, William Arnold wrote a letter in which he attempted to prove 
that the newcomers were ' ' not fit persons to be made members of such 
a body in so weak a state as our town is in at present". The epistle 
is filled with abuse of Gorton, yet contains strong arguments as to the 
danger of admitting such active characters.^ 

The condition of affairs was now becoming alarmingly serious. We 
have seen in a previous chapter how weak and precarious the Provi- 
dence government really was. It will be remembered that at this 
juncture, in November, 1641, an attempt to enforce a decision of the 
court upon one of the Gorton party had ended in the spilling of blood, 
and that as a result several of the inhabitants had petitioned Massa- 
chusetts to lend a helping hand. Shortly after this Gorton and his 
followers removed to Pawtuxet,^ where they built houses and labored 
to "raise up means to maintain their wives and little ones". But they 
were not destined to remain in peace very long. A dispute over land 
induced four of the Pawtuxet proprietors to submit themselves and 

^Arnold (i, 172), through mistaking the date of Williams's letter to Win- 
throp, places his arrival at Providence a year too early. The letter is in 
Winslow, p. 55, also in Deane's Gorton, p. 31, Arnold and elsewhere. 

^'The letter is in Winslow, p. 59; Deane's Gorton, p. 31. 

^Deane {S. Gorton, p. 13) quotes that Gorton purchased land at Pawtuxet 
in January, 1641-42. The statement in Winslow (Deane's Gorton, p. 35) is 
that Robert Cole, "a faverrit" of Gorton's, and John Greene gave him land at 
Papaquinepaug, where he and his companions built houses. (See also Bray- 
ton's Gorton, p. 73.) Gorton's sundry remarks about Cole would not imply 
that he was a favorite. 



62 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

their property to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts.^ That colony 
accepted the submission and immediately sent out a warrant to the 
people of Providence, warning them that all cases against the Paw- 
tuxet men must now be tried in Massachusetts courts.^ Gorton and 
his friends, alarmed at this unjust assumption of power, quickly ad- 
dressed a lengthy and indignant protest to the rulers of the Bay. This 
remonstrance, Avhich denied the claim of the larger colony to extend 
her jurisdiction beyond her chartered limits, was couched in no very 
gentle terms and was interlarded with theological invective. In spite 
of its religious mysticism, the position taken was stated clearly enough, 
as the following extracts will show : 

"Whereas you say Robert Cole, "William Arnold, with others, have 
put themselves under the government and protection of your jurisdic- 
tion, we wish your words were verified, that they were not elsewhere 
to be found, being nothing but the shame of religion, disquiet and dis- 
turbance of the places where they are ; for we know, neither the one 
nor the other, with all their associates and confederates, have power to 
enlarge the bounds, by King Charles limited unto you.. ... In 
that you invite us into your Courts, to fetch your equal balanced 
justice upon this ground, that you are become one with our adversa- 
ries . . . now if we have our opponent to prefer this action against 
us, and not so only, but to be our counsel, our jury and our judge (for 
so it must be, if you are one with them, as you affirm), we know, before- 
hand, how our cause will be ended, and see the scale of your equal 
justice turned already, before we have laid our cause therein. . . . 
We will not be dealt with as before ; we speak in the name of our God, 
we will not, for, if any shall disturb us as above, secret hypocrites shall 
become open tyrants, and their laws appear to be nothing but mere 
lusts, in the eyes of the world. "^ 

Smarting under the rebuke which this letter contained, and incensed 
at the frequent Scriptural invective, the magistrates and ministers of 
the Bay took counsel together and "perusing the writings, framed 
out of them twenty-six particulars, or thereabouts, which they said 
were blasphemous ; changing of phrases, altering of words and sense ; 
not, in any one of them taking the true intent of our writings". 

'Winslow says (Deane's Gorton, p. 35) that the dispute was brought 
about by the attempt of Gorton to buy "pawtuxet lands again over the heads 
of those men that had dwelt there three or four years before, who had bought 
the said lands of Socannanoco the true owner and sachim of pawtuxet lands". 
But the facts seem to show a deeper motive in the submission. (See ante 
p. 35.) 

=The warrant, dated Oct. 28, 1642, is in Simp. Defence (R. I. H. 8. Coll. 
ii, 53.) 

"Simp. Defence. {R. I. H. 8. Coll. ii, 60-86.) The remonstrance is dated 
Nov. 20, 1642. 



i I 



^ESV8fE:h(CE 

l-N-HEADED POLICY, 

OK 

e complaint of a peaceable people being 

of the Eughrn in New £ngIand,raadcBntotue ftate 
ot l).o Ei>glAnd,sgsjnilcrucU pcrtecucorj 

^Ijniied in Qhurch- (government 

in thofe parts. 

.lanircil tht r anifoU out-ragcs 

^■. ^.v,.K .';-jyyt ,.ijuu),and taxatior jfcy cruell andciofeim* 

■ priionment$,fi;eand lw/ord,djpriv/.onofgoodj,Linj$,8r»iUvc« 

I Ivhood, an-* iiich ike birbirous ■•■shuoiinities, eatercifrd opoo the 

1 pc'.pic «LPiov;dcnrc pbntarion^ ir ?"ic Nanliygsnfel: B»y by tiiofc of thc 
■ ' ' '' 1. iiici, fli etching eheinfclvc* 

■ nijpcrpetraiedand aSe4 

■ ■ manner, as mmy 

'. !';i.'--. .r. ■: !C!r Uicir lives. 

ji As IT harh b;'on f/uhfully dccUred to the Hoi^ourible 
'ndComaionj to- Forr«inPlamit20R»s 

V g-lvt prcfc'it Oi'ier for Rcdtcll;. 

• 4.n\' mi [deration whereof h.itij moved a great 
fhe Indians snd Natives in thofc part% Prini'ts and 

.' ^ ! mir unto the Crown of England, and carncftly to fue (dtbft 
i'-.<TC'if for fafcgusrJ and rtichci fiom .'ikcenirlties. 



r>/w;r. j^, i6.^6. Dili!»t'nrly pefufed. approved, and 

■ T-, 31. Dniinj.' to Order by p-.iblilc Authority. 

|- i LONDON^ 

I |*?'riDtedby 7*^* Maeock^, and are f n be io! J by dtergeff^hithMif. 

\ I «'.'* it ihe Uiic Juehf neer the lloyat'i;jrf//4M£<f in 

! 1 Ccyithii. 1647, 



i. 



TITLE PAGE OF GORTON'S "SIMPLICITIES DEFENCE." 
From the Original in the Library of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 



64 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Gorton and his friends, in the meanwhile, thinking it prudent to 
retire further from Massachusetts, had removed late in November to 
the vicinity of Shawomet. Here they decided to make their homes, 
and on January 12, 1643, purchased of Miantonomi a tract of land 
extending from Gaspee Point to "Warwick Neck, and running inland 
twenty miles. The consideration paid was 144 fathoms of wampum, 
and the deed was signed by Miantonomi, Pumliam, and other natives.^ 
But the peace they desired was again denied them. The objects sought 
by Massachusetts, in accepting the jurisdiction of Pawtuxet, had not 
yet been attained — the "outlet into Narragansett Bay" was still ob- 
structed, and "the rest in those parts" had not been "drawn in". 
Since the Gortonists, however, were now beyond their claimed terri- 
tory, some new pretext for molestation was rendered necessary. A 
plan was soon devised which would give Massachusetts a semblance of 
control over the Shawomet lands, and would also be of great benefit 
to her henchmen at Pawtuxet. Early in 1643 Pumham and Sacanon- 
oco, called by Winthrop "two sachems near Providence", went to 
Boston, and through Benedict Arnold, their interpreter, asked to be 
taken under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, alleging that one of 
them had been forced by Miantonomi to sign the deed of Shawomet.^ 
In May the Boston magistrates appointed a committee to "treat with 
Pumham and Socononoco about their submission to us, and to con- 
clude with them and to receive them under our jurisdiction, if they 
see cause, and to warn any to desist which shall disturb them". Ac- 
cordingly, in June, these two Indians, styling themselves sachems of 
Shawomet and Pawtuxet, went to Boston with one of the Arnolds, and 
submitted themselves and their lands to the jurisdiction of Massachu- 
setts.^ The motive in all these proceedings is apparent. If Massachu- 

^R. I. Col. Rec. i, 130. The grantees in this deed were Randall Holden, 
John Greene, John Wickes, Frances Weston, Samuel Gorton, Richard Water- 
man, John Warner, Richard Carder, Samuel Shotten, Robert Potter, and 
William Wodell. Nicholas Power, although not named in the deed, was 
undoubtedly one of the original purchasers (see R. I. H. 8. Coll. ii, 86). For 
a discussion as to the correctness of "Shawomet, 1642," in the seal of the 
R. I. Historical Society, see R. I. H. 8. Proc. 1887-88, p. 40; also Book Notes, 
V, 69. 

^'Winthrop, ii, 120. 

^Mass. Col. Rec. ii, 38-40. The attitude of Massachusetts in this whole 
matter is painfully apparent. Winthrop enters quite fully into the negotia- 
tions which preceded the submission, and incidentally shows that the exam- 
ination of Miantonomi, who came to Boston to answer Pumham's charge, was 
little more than a farce. The testimony of contemporary writers proves con- 
clusively that both these sachems were inferior to Miantonomi. (See R. I. 
U. 8. Coll. ii, 94; and Drayton's Gorton, p. 99.) Winthrop remarked that the 
submission was the "fruit of our prayers", and that "the Lord was by this 



Samuel, Gorton and the Founding op Warwick. 05 

setts could obtain some color of a claim to Shawomet country, she could 
then satisfy her territorial ambitious, and take revenge on Gorton for 
his reviling and "blasphemous" letter. The Arnolds, whose action in 
these proceedings does not place their character in altogether the best 
light, would reap a rich reward in having the titles to certain lands 
they had bought of Pumham effectually established. 

Massachusetts was now in a position to take summary action. In 
September they sent a warrant to the settlers at Shawomet, desiring 
them to come to Boston to answer cei^tain charges made by Pumham 
and Sacanonoco. The Gortonists orally replied that they were beyond 
the Bay jurisdiction and would not "acknowledge subjection unto any 
in the place where they were, but the government of Old England". 
They also wrote a letter, directed to the "great and honored Idol 
General, now set up in Massachusetts", in which they more fully 
and less gently stated their position. Pumham they condemned as a 
fawning, lying, thieving Indian, who was henceforth debarred from 
living on their lands. They asserted that the natives themselves had 
never complained of unjust dealings, and that they had "better em- 
ployments than to trot to the Massachusetts upon the report of a lying 
Indian". They were resolved that Massachusetts must take the initia- 
tive : "If you put forth your hands to us as countrymen, ours are in 
readiness for you — if you exercise your pen, accordingly do we become 
a ready writer — if your sword be drawn, ours is girt upon our thigh." 
They conclude by asking the Boston magistrates to seek redress in 
Shaw^omet courts, Avhere they might receive a "fairer hearing than 
ever we had amongst you, or can ever expect. ' '^ 

The General Court which met at Boston in September considered 
this letter and the oral reply, and appointed three commissioners to 
take a squad of forty men and "bring Samuel Gorton and his com- 
pany, if they do not give them satisfaction". They also dispatched a 
letter to Gorton informing him of their action. The Shawomet men, 
alarmed at these warlike preparations, immediately wrote to intercept 
the commissioners, to the effect that if they came in a hostile way, they 

means making a way to bring them to the knowledge of the gospel". Savage, 
in commenting on this passage, says, "It may be feared that there was too 
much human policy at work in obtaining their subjection, and we must ac- 
knowledge that a territorial usurpation beyond the limits of our charter was 
the result, if not the motive, of the negotiation." 

'The warrant, dated Sept. 12, 1643, and the oral reply are in Simp. Defence 
(R. I. H. S. Coll. ii, 96). The above letter, dated Sept. 15, and signed by 
Randall Holden is in Idem. p. 262. The examination of this letter and the 
previous one of Gorton's form the chief substance of Winslow's Hypocrisie 
Unmasked. 

5 



66 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

came at their peril. ^ To this the commissioners replied that if they 
could not persuade them to repent of their evil ways, they should "look 
upon them as men prepared for slaughter". The troops then began 
an advance upon the little settlement, where Gorton and his friends 
had fortified themselves in one of the houses. After much parleying, 
in which some men from Providence acted as mediators, it was finally 
agreed that hostilities should be suspended until a reply should be 
received from Massachusetts as to whether neutral arbitration were 
agreeable. During this truce Gorton says that the soldiers killed 
cattle, broke into the dwellings and assaulted some of the inhabitants. 

Unbeknown to Gorton, some men of Providence had written to Mas- 
sachusetts, urging arbitration and hoping that the fair propositions 
offered would prevent blood-spilling. Winthrop 's harsh reply clearly 
reveals for the first time the true motive for Massachusetts 's persecu- 
tion : ' ' Take notice, that besides the title of land, between the Indians 
and the English there, there are twelve of the English that have 
subscribed their names to horrible and detestable blasphemies against 
God, and all magistracy, who are rather to be judged as blasphemers." 
The letter of the commissioners was answered in the same tone, show- 
ing that the magistrates had resolved upon a course which no appeal 
to humanity or justice could change.^ 

All hope of arbitration was now at end. The soldiers cut short the 
truce, warned all neutrals to keep away, and threw up entrenchments. 
The Shawomet men hung out the Old English flag, which their assail- 
ants immediately riddled with shot. The siege lasted for several days, 
but such a firm show of resistance did the Gortonists make, that the 
commissioners were compelled to send to the Bay for reinforcements. 
The besieged had now to yield, or suffer a fearful slaughter ; so, after 
a short parley, they agreed to accompany the troops to Boston. As 
soon as they had gained possession of their opponents' firearms, the 
soldiers pillaged their houses, seized upon their cattle, and carried 
them as prisoners to Boston, leaving their wives and children to subsist 
as best they could. 

When they arrived at Boston the Gortonists were placed in the 
common jail to await trial. On the following Sabbath they went, 
under compulsion, to attend the morning service, at the end of which 

'The action of the Court is in Mass. Col. Rec. ii, 41-44; the letter to Shaw- 
omet, dated Sept. 19, their letter to the Commissioners dated Sept. 28, and the 
latter's reply are in R. I. H. 8. Coll. ii, 95-102. 

^For these three letters, see R. I. H. S. Coll. ii, 105-111, and Winthrop, ii, 
139. 



Samuel Gorton and the Founding of Warwick. 67 

Cotton and Gorton indulged in a theological controversy over several 
rather misty points of doctrine. When the Court met on October 17, 
1643, Gorton and his companions were brought forth for examination. 
To their objections that they were not within the Bay jurisdiction, it 
was answered: "1. That they were either within Plymouth or Mr. 
Fenwick, and they had yielded their power to us in this cause. 2. If 
they were under no jurisdiction, that had we none to complain unto 
for redress of our injuries".^ This minor point having been disposed 
of, the Court proceeded to consider the real cause of the trial. The 
odious letters were brought forth and read, and it was demanded of 
the prisoners whether they would defend the expressions therein 
written. Upon their ai^iraiing that they would maintain them in the 
sense in which they wrote them, they were brought severally before the 
Court to be examined. Since they insisted upon their own interpreta- 
tion of the questioned passages, which would puzzle the brain of even 
a past-master of doctrinal theology, Winthrop exclaimed that they 
excelled the Jesuits in the art of equivocation; yet, he admits, they 
"would seem sometimes to consent with us in the truth". 

After this profitless examination the Court consulted about their 
sentence. The elders thought that if they maintained the opinions as 
expressed in their writings, "their offense deserved death by the law 
of God". It was finally decided that the charge against them should 
be as follows: "Upon much examination and serious consideration 
of your writings, with your answers about them, we do charge 
you to be a blasphemous enemy to the true religion of our Lord Jesus 
Christ and his holy ordinances, and also of all civil authority among 
the people of God, and particularly in this jurisdiction. ' ' This having 
been agreed upon, the Court adjourned and the prisoners were recom- 
mitted to await sentence. 

The rest of this story of perversion of justice and tyrannical abuse 
of power is best told in the simple record of their persecutors : 

' ' After divers means had been used in public and private to reclaim 
them, and all proving fruitless, the court proceeded to consider of their 
sentence, in which the court was much divided. All the magistrates, 
save three, were of opinion that Gorton ought to die, but the greatest 
number of deputies dissenting, that vote did not pass. In the end 
all agreed upon this sentence, for seven of them, viz., that they should 
be dispersed into seven several towns, and there kept to work for their 

^Winthrop, ii, 143. It should be noticed that Plymouth had previously 
disclaimed jurisdiction beyond the Narragansett River, and that the Connec- 
ticut claim had never been dreamed of. As for the second answer, it can 
scarcely be considered as an argument. 



68 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

living, and wear irons upon one leg, and not to depart the limits of the 
town, nor by word or writing maintain any of their blasphemous or 
wicked errors upon pain of death, only with exception for speech with 
any of the elders, or any other licensed by any magistrate to confer 
with them ; this censure to continue during the pleasure of the court.-' '^ 

If only the pages of Winthrop remained, and the personal account 
of their sufferings had never been written, we could even then render 
a full measure of justice to the persecuted, and record in history one 
of the darkest blots on Massachusetts 's escutcheon. To quote from 
the Massachusetts historian. Savage, "Silence might perhaps become 
the commentator on this lamentable delusion ; for this narrative almost 
defies the power of comment to enhance or mitigate the injustice of our 
government. ' '^ 

The terms of the sentence were carried out to the letter. By an 
order of November 3, 1643, Gorton and six others were confined in 
different towns around Boston, M^here they were subjected to servile 
labor throughout the whole winter. About a week after the sentence 
the magistrates sent men to Shawomet to get the remainder of the 
cattle, which were appraised and sold to defray the expenses of the 
seizure and trial. But this unjust condition of affairs could not last 
long. Gorton says that as the people came to be informed of the truth 
of the proceedings, they were much dissatisfied with what had been 
done. The magistrates found that the prisoners "did corrupt some 
of our people by their heresies", and wisely decided that public opin- 
ion was safer with the heretics out of the way. So the Court, at its 
session of March 7, 1644, set the prisoners at liberty, but decreed that 
if within fourteen days they should be found in the Massachusetts 
jurisdiction, they should suffer death. This jurisdiction they de- 
scribed as including the lands in or near Providence, as well as the 
lands of Pumham and Sacanonoco.^ 

The prisoners soon had their bolts filed off, and were at liberty. 
But whither could they go ? There was no English settlement, in the 
region where their wives and children were scattered, where they could 

^Winthrop, ii, 146. 

^Savage's ed. of Winthrop, ii, 177. The foregoing account of the trial has 
heen wholly drawn from Winthrop ii, 142-147, and from the records of the 
Court in Mass. Col. Rec. ii, 51. Although it has not been necessary to use 
Gorton's account of the trial as given in his Siviplicities Defence, it is notice- 
able that this account harmonizes perfectly with Winthrop. 

^Mass. Col. Rec. ii, 57. Winthrop (ii, 156) says: "This censure was 
thought too light and favorable, but we knew not how in justice we could 
inflict any punishment upon them, the sentence of the court being already 
passed." 



Samuel Gorton and the Founding of Warwick. 69 

live in safety but the Island of Aqueclneck. While Gorton and some 
of the others were waiting at Boston for their companions to join 
them, they received an order from Governor Winthrop to leave the 
town within two hours. They immediately departed for Aquedneck, 
stopping at Shawomet in their houses for the night. From here they 
wrote a letter to Massachusetts, inquiring whether their lands which 
they had purchased from the Indians were included within the Bay 
jurisdiction. Certain passages in this letter indicate that their spirit 
was still unconquered and that their sense of the injustice done them 
was only sharpened by their sufferings. ' ' If you should so far forget 
yourself, ' ' they write, "as to intend thereby our land lawfully bought 
. . . we resolve upon your answer, with all expedition, to wage 
law with you, and try to the uttermost, what right or interest you can 
show to lay claim, either to our lands or our lives''.^ 

To this missive the governor replied that the Massachusetts jurisdic- 
tion did include the Shawomet lands and that they must leave there 
upon peril of their lives. Unable to cope with the superior force of 
the Bay, the Gortonists withdrew to Aquedneck, where they rejoined 
their families, hired houses, and set about their spring planting. It 
is a great credit to the people of Aquedneck that they could so far 
dispel any resentment of Gorton's previous conduct in their settle- 
ment as now to welcome and shelter him, and even, as M^inslow de- 
clares, elect him to oiSce. It was but natural, however, that the few 
who still leaned towards JNIassachusetts should object to his inhabita- 
tion. Gorton asserts that Winthrop wrote a private letter to a certain 
person on the Island, telling him, "that if he and others could work 
the people of the Island to deliver us up into their hands again (at 
least some of us) it would not only be acceptable unto the Court, then 
sitting, but unto most of the people in general". On August 5, 1644, 
we find Coddington writing to Winthrop : "Gorton, as he came to be 
of the Island before I knew of it, and is here against my mind, so shall 
he not be by me protected. . . . Here is a party which do adhere 
unto Gorton and his company in both the plantations, and judge them 
so much strength to the place, which be neither friends to you nor 
us".- Fortunately Coddington 's prejudiced antipathy could not per- 

^R. I. H. S. Coll. ii, 151. 

-Letter in Mass MS. archives (see Newport Hist. Mag. iii, 1; and also a 
copy in Extracts from Mass. MSS. i, 31, in R. I. Hist. Soc. Library>. 
Coddington again writes, Nov. 11, 1646: "Gorton and his company, they are 
to me as ever they have been, their freedom of the Island is denied, and was 
when I accepted of the place I now bear." (Deane's Gorton, p. 41.) 



70 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

suade the popular will to work further harm upon this much buffeted 
man. 

The scene of the narrative was now to be changed to England. As 
Gorton had threatened at the time of his trial, an appeal to the king 
at least remained to him after other resources had failed. Before his 
departure he brought about an event which, besides greatly strength- 
ening his cause at court, has done more to render his name revered in 
Rhode Island than any other one effort of his life. It seems that the 
Narragansett Indians, upon finding that the Gortonists had returned 
alive and unharmed, had imagined that the English at Boston released 
the "Gortonoges" through fear of a mightier power in Old England. 
They conceived that England was inhabited by two great races, the 
English and the Gortonoges, of whom the latter were the stronger. 
Taking advantage of this impression, Gorton with five or six others, 
visited Canonicus and on April 19, 1644, brought about a complete 
cession of all the Narragansett lands and people to the English king. 
This instrument, which is signed by all the chief sachems, declares that 
having "just cause of jealousy and suspicion of some of His Majesty's 
pretended subjects, our desire is to have our matters and causes heard 
and tried according to his just and equal laws. . . . Nor can we 
yield ourselves unto any, that are subjects themselves". It further 
deputes four of "our trusty and M^ell-beloved friends"— Gorton, 
Wickes, Holden and "Warner— to convey the submission to England. 

This act, considered in the light of subsequent events, was of the 
most vital importance to Rhode Island. Had it not been accomplished, 
the vast Narragansett territory would have inevitably fallen into the 
hands of Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, limited to three small, 
isolated settlements scattered along the water front, could never have 
withstood the attacks of her aggressive neighbors. Deprived of the 
body and backbone, the extremities would surely have been split up 
and parceled out among the adjacent colonies. Whether Gorton real- 
ized the significance of what was done is doubtful. It is certain that, 
in order to make the submission appear as voluntary as possible, he 
was compelled to subordinate his own part in the transactions. But it 
is not too much to say that this cession, together with the obtaining of 
the Patent of 1644 and the Charter of 1663, was one of three events 
in our early history that insured Rhode Island's existence. 

In the winter of 1644-45 Gorton, Holden and Greene, armed with 
the Act of Submission and resolved to win back their homes, set sail 
for England. The first year of his stay Gorton spent in writing his 
Simplicities Defence, which he finished in January, 1646. Then he 



Samuel Gorton and the Founding of Warwick. 71 

and his companions presented to the Committee on Foreign Planta- 
tions a memorial setting forth their grievances. The Commissioners, 
of whom Sir Henry Vane, ever a friend to Rhode Island colonists, was 
one, soon issued an order requiring Massachusetts to permit the peti- 
tioners to live without interruption at Shawomet until the matter 
could be settled with a full hearing. "We found," states the order, 
"that the petitioner's aim and desire was not so much a reparation for 
the past, as a settling their habitation for the future. ' ' In September, 
Holdeu and Greene returned with this order, which the Bay received 
with much ill grace, scarcely allowing the bearers to pass through their 
jurisdiction. They immediately commissioned Edward Winslow to go 
to England as their agent, and also sent a written answer to Gorton's 
petition. Upon Winslow 's arrival the Commissioners returned an 
explanatory letter to Massachusetts and appointed a day for both 
claimants to appear before them. Winslow, in the meanwhile, had 
hurried into print his Hypocrisie Vinmaskcd, in the dedication of 
which he made five requests — that the censure of Massachusetts might 
be strengthened, that Gorton might not be suffered to return to New 
England, that Shawomet might be included in the Plymouth Patent, 
that appeals from New England courts should be disregarded, and that 
he himself should be "patronized in his just defense". On May 25, 
1647, the Commissioners made their final answer. They utterly ig- 
nored every one of Winslow 's five requests and ordered that the Gor- 
tonists should be allowed a peaceable inhabitation of their Shawomet 
lands, until it should be proved that the tract in question was within 
any New England Patent.^ 

Having accomplished the object of his visit, Gorton returned to 
America in 1648, being compelled to show a letter from the Earl of 
Warwick before he was allowed to pass through Massachusetts. He 
immediately rejoined his companions at Shawomet, which was renamed 
Warwick in honor of the chief of the Parliamentary Commission. 
Thither had the persecuted families, in spite of the notices, warrants 
and intimidations of the Bay Colony, returned soon after the receipt 
of the first order from England.- Although the express command of 
the English authorities that they should not be molested did not release 

'The documents for the English phase of the Gorton controversy are 
chiefly reproduced in Staples's ed. of Simp. Defence. Other sources to be con- 
sulted are Winslow's petitions, in his Hypoc. Unmasked, and the full text 
of Gorton's Letter to Morton, in Force's Tracts, iv. no. 7. 

=It is not probable that they returned to the exact spot which they had 
been compelled to abandon a few years previous. Their new settlement was 
planted at the head of Warwick Cove. 




72 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

them from all annoyances from the Bay, they could now feel free to 
unite with their sister settlements in a chartered government, and bear 
the common burden of overcoming aggression from without and dis- 
sension from within. 

In view of the somewhat unsettled existence of the first planters of 
Shawomet, it is difficult to determine exactly what kind of a political 
framework they would have erected had they been undisturbed. None 
of their records before 1647 are preserved, and possibly none were 
kept. The most that we can learn is from the pen of Gorton, who 
writes in 1643: "In the mean time [until the arrival of an English 
Charter] we lived peaceably together, desiring and Endeavoring to do 
wrong to no man, neither English nor Indian, ending all our differ- 
ences in a neighborly and loving way of arbitrators, mutually chosen 
amongst us." Although some of their letters to Massachusetts are 
signed by the "Secretary of the Government of Shawomet", it is 
probable that this tiny settlement of less than a dozen families re- 
quired no definite political organization beyond the "peculiar fellow- 
ship" which one of their number alluded to as existing.^ To this 
absence of necessity for government was added their dislike of magis- 
tracy until the same should be officially recognized from England. 
Some of their acts are recorded before the incorporation of Providence 
Plantations on May 19, 1649 f but it was not until this colony organ- 
ization was accomplished that the Warwick men consented to institute 
a real town government. They then received their town charter, 
signed their fundamental agreement and elected town officers. The 
colony patent quieted their misgivings as to the lack of English alle- 
giance, and thereafter no town showed a greater attachment to "law 
and order" than Warwick. 

^See R. I .H. 8. Coll. ii, 96, 151, 165, 269. 

^Peter Greene was received an inhabitant of the Town of Warwick on 
May 1, 1467, (MS. Warwick Records). 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE OBTAINING OF THE FIRST CHARTER, 1639-47. 

We have witnessed the small beginnings of the earliest Rhode Island 
towns. We have seen how the forces of internal dissension and exter- 
nal aggression gradually forced npon them the necessity of having a 
more powerful source of authority than their own self-appointed as- 
semblies. Scorned and threatened by the adjacent colonies, they came 
to realize that if they wished to become the political equals of their 
neighbors, they must seek for some evidences of favor from the Gov- 
ernment of England — the well-spring of authority throughout all 
New England. More than the desire to secure the enjoyment of relig- 
ious liberty, more than the hope of obtaining a unification of the 
different communities — for some at Newport hoped for the exclusion 
of Providence, and the admission of Warwick was not even dreamed 
of— more than either of these two causes, the necessity of gaining 
royal recognition to ward off the attacks of their enemies was the 
weightiest reason in inducing the Rhode Islanders to take active steps 
in the question of a patent. They knew that their government was 
little better than a "squatter's sovereignty"; they could not deny the 
contemptuous remarks of Lechford, Winthrop and Gorton as to their 
lack of a legally constituted magistracy. It was now time to act. 

The first official action in this matter of a patent was taken at New- 
port. On November 25, 1639, the Newport Court commissioned Eas- 
ton and Clarke to ' ' inform Mr. Vane by writing of the state of things 
here, and desired him to treat about the obtaining a patent of the 
Island from his Ma jestie ' '. Since this order apparently availed noth- 
ing, on September 19, 1642, a new committee of the ten principal men 
of the Island was appointed. They were to "consult about the pro- 
curation of a patent for this Island and Islands, and the land adja- 
cent ; and to draw up petitions ; and to send letters for the same end 
to Sir Henry Vane ' '.^ This second committee accomplished but little, 
and the law makers must have come to the conclusion that letters and 

^R. I. Col. Rec. i, 94, 125. 



74 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

petitions should be abandoned for a personal application at the English 
Court. An event was soon to transpire that was to hasten their judg- 
ment in the matter. 

In 1640 the Aquedneck colony had united with those at Hartford 
and New Haven in a letter to the Bay urging a mutual consideration 
of all Indian affairs. The Massachusetts Court ordered that favorable 
answers should be sent to all but those at Aquedneck, who were ' ' men 
not to be capitulated withal by us as their case standeth".^ After 
this ''exalted triumph of bigotry" — as the learned editor of Winthrop 
has termed it — the matter was allowed to remain in abeyance for a 
few months. At last the pressing danger from the Indians brought 
the matter into consideration again and on May 19, 1643, the colonies 
of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven entered into 
a confederation known as the United Colonies of New England. 
Rhode Island, as might be expected, was excluded from the league. 
One has only to read the previous order of 1640 and also notice the 
stated reason for the alliance, "that as in nation and religion, as in 
other respects we may be and continue one", to find an explanation of 
the true reason for her exclusion.^ Aroused to action by this scornful 
insult, the Rhode Island settlements took immediate steps about obtain- 
ing a patent from the King. To this end, Roger Williams, without a 
doubt the ablest man in the colony for the purpose, embarked from 
New York in the spring of 1643 for England.^ He arrived to find the 
mother country in the throes of civil war. The King, though still sur- 
rounded by a considerable body of followers, M^as a fugitive, and the 
government of the kingdom was administered by Parliament, standing 
for civil liberty and the displacement of prelacy. Most opportune it 
was for Rhode Island that the party in power favored the very princi- 
ples of toleration that Williams himself held. He soon applied to the 
recently constituted committee on Foreign Plantations, and on March 
14, 1644, received a "Free Charter of Civil Incorporation and Govern- 
ment for the Providence Plantations, in the Narragansett Bay, in New 
England".* 

'See R. I. Col Rec. i, 110; Winthrop, ii, 21; and Mass. Col. Rec. i, 305. 

'The articles of confederation are in Hazard, State Papers, ii, 1, Winthrop 
ii, 101 and elsewhere. Judge Stiness enters quite fully into the subject of 
R. I.'s exclusion in his Prov. Co. Court House address, p. 19. 

^See Winthrop ii, 97, Narr. Club. Publ. i, 10, 23, 218; vi, 272. 

••The Charter is in R. I. Col. Rec. i, 143. For discussion as to its date, see 
Arnold, i, 114. It is signed by Warwick, the head of the Commission, and by 
ten others, among them Sir Henry Vane. 



The Obtaining of the First Charter, 1639-47. 75 

That Roger Williams was able to obtain the free and absolute char- 
ter he did was due chiefly to the influence which he had in the most 
powerful quarters of the kingdom. It was not a mere land patent, nor 
a trading charter like that of Massachusetts. It was a real, effective 
governmental charter, bestowing upon the grantees the power to rule 
within the assigned limits by whatever form of government they saw 
fit, and the right to make whatever laws they desired. The only pro- 
viso, that the said laws should be ''conformable to the laws of Eng- 
land", was practically annulled by the clause "so far as the nature 
and constitution of the place will admit". A distinguishing feature 
of the charter was the limiting of its operation to civil things only. 
There was no express provision concerning liberty of conscience, for 
that, as Williams claimed, was a natural, and not a grantable right. ^ 
The mere limitation to political concerns was the first example of the 
kind in the New World and was then considered the chief principle 
of the Charter. 

Another distinguishing characteristic of this Charter was the small- 
ness of the territory granted. In most of the early American patents, 
the land stretched indefinitely out into the west. Roger Williams, 
however, was too conscientious to take more than he thought belonged 
to him, as the following quotation from one of his letters will show : 

"The bounds of this our first charter, I (having ocular knowledge 
of persons, places and transactions) did honestly and conscientiously, 
as in the holy presence of God, draw up from Pawcatuck river, which 
I then believed, and still do, is free from all English claims and con- 
quests ; for although there were some Pequods on this side the river, 
who, by reason of some Sachems' marriages with some on this side, 
lived in a kind of neutrality with both sides, yet, upon the breaking 
out of war, they relinquished their land to the possession of their ene- 
mies, the Narragansetts and Niantics, and their land never came into 
the condition of the lands on the other side, which the English, by 
conquest, challenged ; so that I must still affirm, as in God 's holy pres- 
ence, I tenderly waived to touch a foot of land in which I knew the 
Pequot wars were maintained and were properly Pequod, being a gal- 
lant country ; and from the Pawcatuck river hitherAvard, being but a 
patch of ground, full of troublesome inhabitants, I did, as I judged, 
draw our poor and inconsiderable line".^ 

'Judge Staples says "to accept a grant of religious liberty from any human 
power, would be a virtual recognition of the right to grant, which, of course, 
implies a right to refuse". (Code of 1647, p. 10.) In 1658, the General As- 
sembly asserted that "freedom of different consciences to be protected from 
inforcements, was the principal ground of our Charter both with respect to 
our humble suit for it, as also to the true intent of Parliament in granting the 
same." (R. I. Col. Rec. i, 378.) 

''Narr. Club. Pub. vi, 340. 



76 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Although the chief purpose of Williams in coming to England was 
to obtain a civil charter, he found time to take considerable part in the 
controversies of the period, and to do much creditable literary work 
for his own satisfaction. His Key to the Indian Language, composed 
during his passage across the Atlantic, was soon followed by ilfr. 
Cotton's Letter, Lately Printed, Examined and Answered, in which 
for the first time he brought out in the public print his ideas upon 
religious liberty. He next attacked the designs of the Presbyterian 
divines, who were seeking to establish an intolerant national church, 
in his Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience discussed 
in a Conference hetiveen Truth and Peace. This controversial treatise, 
which passed through two editions, was the last published during his 
stay in England. But he continued to make the influence of his pen 
felt even after his departure, by leaving behind him two manuscripts 
which were printed in 1645. In one of these. Christenings make not 
Christians, he shows the difficulty of converting the Indians, and in 
the other. Queries of Highest Consideration, he disclaims against the 
union of church and state and demonstrates the impracticability of 
enforcing a national religion.^ These various treatises of Roger Will- 
iams, while they must have had some influence in shaping public opin- 
ion on these questions, were too far in advance of the age to have any 
lasting effect. The narrow spirit of the time shuddered at the thought 
of even partial toleration, and as for the complete sufferance of all 
religions, that was considered rather as a heresy and a dream. 

Soon after he had accomplished the object of his mission, Williams 
set sail for Boston, where he arrived September 17, 1644. He brought 
with him a letter, signed by several of the highest personages in Eng- 
land and addressed to the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. The signers 
expressed their regret that, among such good men as the Bay settlers 
and Roger Williams, "who mutually give good testimony each of the 
other, there should be such a distance ' ' ; and professed their desire 
that there should be a more "ready expressing of those good affections, 
which we perceive you bear each to the other, in the actual perform- 
ance of all friendly offices".- Although the Bay rulers had no inten- 
tion of relaxing in their policy toward Williams and his followers, they 

^The best accounts of these different treatises may be found in the various 
introductions in the Narr. Club. Publications and in the preface of R. I. Hist. 
Tracts, vol. 14. 

^Winthrop ii, 193, and Hubbard (2 Mass. Hist. Coll. vi, 349.) This protect- 
ing letter includes among its signers Sir William Masham, whose chaplain 
Williams had previously been in England, and Sir Thomas Harrington, the 
first cousin of the lady to whom Williams had formerly plighted his troth. 



The Obtaining op the First Charter, 1639-47. 77 

allowed him to pass through their domain unmolested. He immediate- 
ly made his way to the Seekonk, where he Avas met by his friends in 
fourteen canoes, and carried in triumph to Providence.^ In a little 
more than a year he had made a long ocean voyage, procured the much 
longed for charter of incorporation, and inserted in the same his own 
ideas about the separation of the church and state. In the language 
of the instrument itself, it was truly a hopeful beginning, "which may 
in time, by the blessing of God upon their endeavors, lay a surer foun- 
dation of happiness to all America". 

While Williams was absent in England, events were taking place in 
the colonies tending to weaken what little unification the settlements 
around Narragansett Bay possessed. In July, 1643, a war broke out 
between Uncas, sachem of the Mohegans, and Sequasson, another Con- 
necticut sachem, who was a relative and ally of Miantonomo. The 
Narragansett sachem immediately complained of Uncas to the govern- 
ors of Connecticut and Massachusetts, desiring to know whether they 
would be offended if he took part in the feud himself. Governor 
Haynes replied that "the English had no hand in it", and Governor 
AA'inthrpp that "if Uncas had done him or his friends wrong and 
would not give satisfaction, we should leave him to take his own 
course ' '. Having ascertained the feelings of the English, Miantonomo 
marched upon Uncas, but was defeated, and through the treachery of 
his captains, captured. When the news of this came to Providence, 
Gorton wrote a letter to Uncas interceding in the captive's behalf, 
upon the receipt of which Uncas placed the prisoner in charge of the 
English at Hartford. The case now came before the commissioners 
of the United Colonies, met at Boston in September. This body, after 
they had upon serious consideration come to the conclusion that they 
had "no sufficient ground to put him to death", called in "five of the 
most judicious elders" for advice. These five ministers of the gospel, 
who should have represented all that was Christian and charitable in 
the colony, unanimously advised that Miantonomo 's life should be 
taken away. Unwilling to execute the sentence, the commissioners 
decreed that Uncas should be his captive's executioner. The deed was 
carried out in the same heartless spirit that the sentence was passed. 
A party of Indians and English led forth the prisoner from Hartford, 
and on the road the brother of Uncas suddenly approached Mian- 
tonomo from behind and split open his head with a hatchet. 

The attitude of the Puritan magistrates in this atrocious murder is 

^Richard Scott's letter in Fox and Burnyeat, N. E. Firebrand Quenched, 
ii, 247. 



78 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

almost too painful to discuss. It was all a matter of policy. Al- 
though they had previously asserted their neutrality in the feud, they 
could not let pass such an excellent opportunity of putting out of the 
way a savage who might possibly become a strong opponent to their 
claims for territory. The remarks upon the subject made by Governor 
Hopkins, written nearly a century and a half ago, are so heartfelt and 
so truly significant that they are here quoted : ' ' This was the end of 
Miantonomo, the most potent Indian prince the people of New Eng- 
land had ever had any concern with ; and this was the reward he re- 
ceived for assisting them seven years before, in their war with the 
Pequots. Surely a Ehode Island man may be permitted to mourn his 
unhappy fate, and drop a tear upon the ashes of Miantonomo, who, 
with his uncle Conanicus, were the best friends and greatest benefact- 
ors the colony ever had. They kindly received, fed, and protected the 
first settlers of it, when they were in distress, and were strangers and 
exiles, and all mankind else were their enemies ; and by this kindness 
to them, drew upon themselves the resentment of the neighboring 
colonies, and hastened the untimely end of the young king".^ 

While these forces outside of Rhode Island were thus striving 
during Williams's absence to prevent the maintenance of her territory, 
there was a more subtle influence within the colony working towards 
its dismemberment. At Newport we can perceive thus early the 
machinations of a certain faction which desired alliance with Massa- 
chusetts or Plymouth, rather than colonial independence in conjunc- 
tion with their more liberal but less prosperous neighbors at the head 
of the bay. It was William Coddington who was the instigator and 
prime mover of these schemes, and as early as August 5, 1644, we find 
him writing to Governor Winthrop : ''Now the truth is, I desire to 
have such alliance with yourselves or Plymouth, one or both, as might 
be safe for us all, I having these in trust in the Island, it being bought 
to me and my friends ; and how convenient it might be if it were pos- 
sessed by an enemy, lying in the heart of the plantations and conven- 
ient for shipping, I cannot but see ; but I want both counsel and strength 
to effect what I desire. I desire to hear from you, and that you would 
bury what I write in deep silence, for what I write I never hinted to 
any, nor would I to you, had I the least doubt of your faithfulness 
that it should be uttered to my prejudice".^ 

^R. I. H. S. Coll. vii, 64. The chief authorities for the proceedings against 
Miantonomo are Winthrop, ii, 131; Winslow, Hypoc. Unmasked, p. 72; Trum- 
bull Hist, of Conn, i, 130; Records of the Commissioners in Plymouth Rec. 
ix, 10; and 3 Mass. H. S. Coll. iii, 161. 

"Netvport Hist. Mag. iii, 3, and copy in Extracts from Mass. MSS. i, 31, in 
R. I. H. S. Library. 



The Obtaining of the First Charter, 1639-47. 79 

At this early date this covert scheme intended perhaps nothing more 
than a friendly alliance with Massachusetts and Plymouth, but it was 
the germ of a project which later sought the entire exclusion of Provi- 
dence from such a league. Had it succeeded, the northern town, thus 
isolated, would have soon been swallowed up by her watchful neigh- 
bors. 

Upon AVilliams's return with the Charter in September, 1644, affairs 
did not assume a much brighter appearance. The knowledge that 
such an instrument had actually been obtained only inspired the 
neighboring colonies to make fresh attempts in exercising their juris- 
diction in those parts. In November, 1644, Plymouth sent a commis- 
sioner to Aquedneck to warn them that ''a great part of their supposed 
government is within the line of the government of Plymouth". He 
was instructed to forbid them "to exercise any authority, or power of 
government within the limits of our letters patent", which territory 
was said to include also Coweset.^ It is needless to say that this some- 
what presumptuous message, so contrary to the express admission of 
non-jurisdiction nearly seven years before, received but little atten- 
tion. 

The efforts of the Massachusetts colony met with but little better suc- 
cess. In August, 1645, the Rhode Island colonists assembled at New- 
port to take action upon a letter recently received from the Bay desiring 
them to " forbear the exercise of Government". They formulated and 
returned a dignified and forceful reply, which, since it has historical 
importance and has been hitherto usually unnoticed, is here printed 
entire : 

' ' Our much honored friends and countrymen. 
Our due respects and love promised. 

''Having lately received a writing from the right worshipful your 
counsell deeply concerning yourselves and us, we pray your favorable 
attention to our answer, 

"First a civil government we honor, and earnestly desire to live in, 
for all those good ends which are attainable thereby, both of public 
and private nature. 

' ' This desire caused us humbly to sue for a Charter from our mother 
state. Not that formerly or now we approve and honor not your civil 
state and government, but as we believe your consciences are per- 
suaded to govern our souls as well as our bodies, yourselves will say 

^Winslow, Hypoc. Unmasked, p. 83, where the full instructions are given, 
Gorton says that John Browne, the Plymouth commissioner, "went from 
house to house, both in Portsmouth and Newport, discouraging the people for 
yielding any obedience unto the authority of the Charter." (R. I. H. S. Coll. 
ii, 168.) 



80 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

we have cause to endeavor to preserve our souls and liberties, which 
your consciences must necessarily deprive us of, and either cause great 
distractions and molestations to yourselves and us at home, or cause 
our further removals and miseries. 

' ' Thirdly, we cannot but wonder that being now found in the pos- 
ture of government from the same authority, unto which you and we 
equally subject, you should desire us to forbear the exercise of such a 
government A\dthout an expression from that authority directed to us. 

"And we the rather wonder because our Charter, as it was first 
granted, and first established, so was it also expressly signified unto 
you all, in a letter from divers lords and commons (at the coming over 
of our charter) out of a loving respect both to yourselves and us. 

"Besides you may please to be informed that his Excellency the 
Lord Admiral hath lately divers times been pleased to o^vn us under 
the notion of Providence Plantations. And that he hath signified 
unto us (which we can show you in writing) the desires of Plymouth 
to infringe our Charter, but his own favorable resolution not only to 
maintain our Charter to his utmost power, but also to gratify us with 
any other favor, etc. 

' ' In all which respects we see not how we may yield ourselves delin- 
quents and liable to answer in your country, as your writing to us 
seems to import, why we cast not away such noble favor and grace 
unto us. 

"It is true that divers amongst us express their desires of compos- 
ing this controversy between yourselves and us, but considering that 
we have not only received a challenge from yourselves but also from 
Mr. Fenwick, and also from Plymouth, and also from some in the name 
of the Lord Marcus Hamilton (of all such claims we never heard until 
the arrival of our Charter) we judge it necessary to employ our mes- 
sengers and agents unto the head and fountain of all these streams 
and there humbly to prostrate ourselves and cause for a small sentence 
and determination. 

"And this w^e are immediately preparing to do without any secret 
reservations or delays, not doubting but yourselves will rest satisfied 
with this our course, and in the interim although you have not been 
pleased to admit us into considerations of what concern the whole 
country, as you have done others of our countrymen, yet we cannot 
but humbly profess our readiness to attend all such friendly and 
neighborly courses, and ever rest 

"Yours assured in all services of love, 

"The Colony of Providence Plantations, assembled at 
Newport '9th :6 Mo. 1645. 

"Henry Walton, Sec't."^ 

^Mass MS. Archives, ii, 6, and copied in Extracts from Mass. MS8. 1. 38, in 
R. I. H. S. Library. It has been printed, however, as a footnote to Aspinwall's 
ifarragansett Patent, p. 20. 



The Obtaining of the First Charter, 1639-47. 81 

The Bay magistrates now tried a new tack. They wrote to Will- 
iams, as chief officer of the colony, that they had ' ' received lately out 
of England a charter from the authority of the High Court of Parlia- 
ment, bearing date 10th December, 1643, whereby the Narragansett 
Bay, and a certain tract of land wherein Providence and the Island of 
Quidny are included"; and warning those in the said territory to 
"forbear to exercise any jurisdiction therein".^ "Williams perceiving 
that the order was founded upon no legal sanction, returned what he 
termed "a righteous and weighty" answer,^ to which he never received 
the least reply. Massachusetts continued to send out occasional war- 
rants to those in her claimed jurisdiction at Shawomet, but apparently 
abandoned the idea of interfering with the provisions of the Charter 
of 1644. 

There are certain passages in the letter to Massachusetts which seem 
to show that an early attempt was made by the colonists to form a 
federated government in conformity with the terms of the Charter. 
They express themselves as being "in the posture of Government", 
allude to the Charter as having been granted and "established", and 
sign themselves in true governmental form. There was surely some 
semblance of organization, especially as Williams in his letter to Mason 
speaks of himself as the "chief officer in this colony". The true state 
of affairs was perhaps best described by Gorton, writing in 1646 : 
"Which Charter being joyfully embraced, and with all expedition, an 
orderly and joint course was held, for the investing of the people into 
the power and liberties thereof unanimously, for the exercise of the 

"^Mass. Col. Rec. iii, 49, the letter being dated Aug. 27, 1645. The Charter 
referred to as having been granted Dec. 10, 1643, is the so-called "Narragan- 
sett Patent". This patent, supposed to have been obtained by the unauthor- 
ized efforts of Welde, the Bay agent in England, was never recognized at home 
or abroad. Whether a forgery or not, its inherent worthlessness has been 
clearly shown by Thomas Aspinwall in his Remarks on the Narr. Patent. 
(See also Mass. H. 8. Proc. for May, 1860, p. 39; Feb., 1862, p. 400; June, 1862, 
p. 41; and Book Notes, viii, 196.) In 1673 the Town of Warwick made the 
following statement concerning the patent: "Mr. Wells procured a patent 
for our colony and got the same honorable persons [his Majesty's commis- 
sioners] hands to it as was to our first patent procured by Mr. Roger Will- 
iams; but when it came to be pleaded to, the Earl of Warwick protested it 
never passed that board, and therefore condemned it, notwithstanding his own 
hand was to it, to Mr. Wells his shame". (Copies of Warwick Records, in 
R. I. H. S. Library, p. 29.) It was also positively stated both by Williams 
and Brenton to have been not legally executed {Narr. Club Pul). vi, 341; and 
R. I. Col. Rec. ii, 162.) In 1664 the Town of Warwick claimed that this pat- 
ent had been defeated through the exertions of their agents (R. I. C. R. ii, 80). 
The patent itself is printed in the N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg. xi, 41. 

-Williams's reference to this reply is in his letter to Mason in Narr. 
Club. Pub. vi, 341. 





82 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

authority, in the execution of laws, for the good and quiet of the 
people, which thing gave great encouragement unto the planters, to 
go on in their employments, hoping to enjoy their lawful rights and 
privileges without disturbance, which the Massachusetts, together with 
Plymouth, understanding, they go about by all means to discourage 
the people, by their endeavouring to weaken and invalid the authority 
of the Charter in the eyes of the country".^ 

Undoubtedly there was some attempt to organize immediately a 
government under the Charter; but its operation and effectiveness 
must have been defeated by the aggression of Massachusetts and Ply- 
mouth, as Gorton infers, and also by the lack of co-operation within 
the colony. There was a certain faction at Aquedneck that was con- 
tinually seeking to defeat the purposes of the Charter for nearly a 
decade after its acquirement. To this faction a separate Island char- 
ter, or even alliance with Massachusetts, was preferable to union 
with a contentious settlement under a patent which did not even 
recognize the Island in its title of incorporation. The feeling of 
distrust must have changed to one of fear, when this faction realized 
that the Gortonists had been admitted to equal parliamentary privi- 
leges in the new ship of state. On November 11, 1646, we find Cod- 
dington wmting to Winthrop : ''The Commissioners have joined them 
[Gorton and his company], in the same Charter, tho we maintain the 
Government as before".^ 

Thus, on account of local animosities, no effective establish- 
ment of the Charter of 1644 was brought about until the spring 
of 1647. In May of that year, arrangements for a general 
assembly of the people at Portsmouth were made, if we may judge by 
the subsequent trend of events, chiefly at the instigation of the anti- 
Coddington faction at Aquedneck. On May 16, the inhabitants of 
Providence appointed ten commissioners to represent the town in the 
approaching assembly, and to take action upon the governmental 
"model, that hath been lately shewed unto us by our worthy friends 
of the Island". They gave the commissioners full power to act for the 
town, and instructed them to procure a copy of the Charter, to secure 
for the town the complete ordering of its own internal affairs, to make 
provision for appeal unto General Courts, and in case town charters 
were granted, to obtain one for Providence suited to promote the gen- 
eral peace and union of the colony. They closed by committing the 

^Simp. Defence {R. I. H. 8. Coll. ii, 166), 
'Deane's Oorton, p. 41. 



The Obtaining of the First Charter, 1639-47. 83 

delegates to the direction of the Almighty, wishing them "a comfort- 
able voyage, a happy success, and a safe return".^ 

On May 19, this general assembly, constituting the "major part of 
the Colony", gathered at Portsmouth to accept the Charter, to elect 
officers, and to draw up a code of laws. After having chosen John 
Coggeshall moderator, they all agreed to "set their hands to an engage- 
ment to the Charter". They made provision for a quorum and for 
representation of the towns at future General Courts, admitted War- 
wick to the same privileges as Providence, and then proceeded to the 
election of officers. John Coggeshall of Newport was chosen by ballot 
to be President of the Colony, and an Assistant was chosen for each 
town — Roger Williams for Providence, John Sanford for Portsmouth, 
William Coddington for Newport, and Randall Holden for AVarwick. 
William Dyer was elected General Recorder, and Jeremy Clarke 
Treasurer. 

The method of originating legislation was then prescribed. A law 
was first to be discussed and voted upon in the town, which was to 
subject the result of the decision to the approval of the three other 
towns. Each of the four towns was to commend its decision to a 
committee of six to be discussed in "General Court" or committee 
meeting. If it was then found that the major part of the colony con- 
curred in the case, it was to stand as a law until its final confirmation 
by the general assembly of all the people. It was further agreed that 
this General Court could discuss and determine new cases brought 
before them and carry the result of their decision to their respective 
towns. The townsmen were to vote upon the matter, when it could 
stand as a law until the next general assembly of all the people, to be 
finally approved or repealed. Thus it will be seen that the people, 
being extremely jealous of delegated authority, insisted upon reserv- 
ing to themselves the final voice in legislation. They enjoyed both the 
* ' initiative ' ' and the ' ' referendum " ; in fact, they possessed the sov- 
ereign political power, not in their collective capacity as inhabitants of 
the toAvn, as has been often supposed, but as individuals belonging to 
the Colony. This law was probably framed by those on Aquedneck. 
If the political unit was to be the town, then Newport's greater num- 
bers, wealth and culture would all go for naught. Having the largest 
population, the Islandere naturally desired a majority rule. It is 
doubtful, however, whether laws originated elsewhere than in the 
General Courts, or whether the people ever exercised their right of 

^Prov. Rec. xv, 9. 



84 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

repeal. The method of legislation was too cumbersome and soon 
yielded to a representative system more worthy of the name.^ 

After ordering a colony seal, adopting a complete military system, 
and making several minor provisions, the assembly proceeded to the 
adoption of their bill of rights and code of laws. In the preamble 
they assert that "the form of government established in Providence 
Plantations is Democratical, that is to say, a government held by the 
free and voluntary consent of all, or the greater part of the free 
inhabitants". This characteristic doctrine is followed by a bill of 
rights, embracing under four distinct heads the foundation of all sub- 
sequent legislation. The first of these sections re-enacts the clause in 
the Magna Charter that no man shall be molested except by the 
lawful judgment of his peers. The second guards the right of the 
individual against the government by enacting that no officer shall 
do either more, or less, than what he is authorized to do. As far as 
principle was concerned, there was to be no sanction of a "loose con- 
struction" by these early legislators. The third section secures the 
rights of the minority by requiring that all laws must be ' ' founded on 
the Charter and rightly derived from the General Assembly". The 
fourth enacts that those who serve the public shall be duly compen- 
sated and also establishes a fine for refusal to serve. 

The code of laws, which foUows the bill of rights, is truly a most 
remarkable instrument. It may not define crimes with the fullness 
and legal precision employed in a disquisition on criminal law, but its 
meaning is never in doubt. Through it all there breathes a spirit of 
frankness and freedom strongly in contrast to the spirit of the age. 
These legislators well knew that the source of their power resided in 
their dependence upon England, but they had no intention of allowing 
any of their chosen principles of religious and political toleration to 
be frustrated by any ancient provisions of English law. Their enact- 
ments concerning the formation of a military force, the regulations 
with reference to the payment of import duties by foreigners, the 
limitation of punishable crimes to those expressly listed in the code, 
and the provision which allowed all men "to walk as their conscience 
persuade them", all show their disregard for English laws relating to 
the same subjects. The provision that laws should be conformable 
to the laws of England only in "so far as the nature and constitution 
of the place will admit", was not inserted in the Charter without 
reason. 

'See the Act of Oct. 26, 1650 (R. I. Col. Rec. i, 228) in which the law of! 
1647 was repealed. 



The Period of the First Charter, 1648-63. 85 

Although there is not space here to allude in detail to the provisions 
of this code, the remarks of Judge Staples on the subject, written over 
fifty years ago, should certainly be quoted. These early legislators, 
he says, ''began at the foundation, and adopted a bill of rights which 
secured all that their ancestors had wrested from their kings, and 
which their countrymen had subsequently lost, and were then endeav- 
oring to regain. They clothe them in language too plain not to be 
understood. They were a simple people, and the language of their 
laws was such as a people would naturally use. They regarded them- 
selves, within the scope of their charter, as the only source of power 
among them, and they in practice declared 'that their government 
derived all its just powers from the consent of the governed'. They 
expressly declared their government to be a democracy, or 'govern- 
ment held by the consent of all the free inhabitants'. This declaration 
was as heterodox in the political systems of that day, as were their 
notions of soul-liberty. . . . This code, and the acts and orders 
passed at its adoption, constituted the fundamental laws of the colony 
while the charter remained in force. The alterations made in them 
during that period were rather formal than substantial. Their spirit 
remained unchanged, and has been infused into all the subsequent 
legislation of the colony and state ".^ 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE PERIOD OF THE FIRST CHARTER, 1648-63. 

The people of Rhode Island had started the machinery of their new 
framework of government, but they were poorly qualified to keep the 
machine running smoothly and easily. When to the controversies 
within the separate towois were added the disputes arising from a 
general union, the burden seemed more than they could bear. The 
absence of a state protected church, while of incalculable benefit froui 
many points of view, was in that day somewhat of a bar to political 
order. The blind subordination of the people and the calm ascend- 
ency of the rulers— both the fruits of a theocracy— gave place in 
Rhode Island to rampant individuality. Eccentrics, enthusiasts, men 

^Cocle of 16'i7, p. 63. 



86 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of original and bold minds— those who are in the vanguard of every 
great reform — are seldom best qualified to submit peacefully and 
quietly to a newly framed government. And the early colonists of 
Rhode Island were no exception to the rule. The addition of new 
political relations only gave opportunity for further dissension. 

Trouble soon began to crop out between Newport and Portsmouth. 
Scarcely had the charter been adopted, when the former town, by a 
vote of 41 to 24^ signified its desire to continue under the same joint 
government as before ; but the Portsmouth men, adopting a more 
reasonable construction of the charter, replied to the Newport messen- 
gers that they would ' ' act apart by themselves and be as free in their 
transactions as any of the other towns in the colony".^ Providence, 
although not entertaining a dislike toward the new government, was 
too disturbed by internal disputes to be of much assistance in its man- 
agement. Williams, either to escape these distractions or to seek a 
closer acquaintance with the Indians, had established a trading house 
in the heart of the Narragansett country.^ He continued, however, 
to lend his aid and presence to the conducting of Providence affairs, 
and in December, 1647, prevailed upon several of his associates to 
subscribe to an act, whereby they renewed their allegiance to the town 
and colony, and consigned all former differences to the ''Grave of 
Oblivion".^ This act bore little fruit, since the few who signed it were 
least addicted to contentious actions. 

Affairs were running far more smoothly, then, when the General 
Assembly met at Providence in May, 1648. Scarcely had Coddington 
been elected President when he was suspended, pending certain bills 
of complaint exhibited against him. As he did not attend the court 
to clear himself of the accusations against him, Jeremy Clarke, the 
assistant from Newport, was chosen to supply his place.* The issue 
between the state party and the Coddington faction lay in the latter 's 
refusal to side with the colony in her controversies with Massachusetts ; 
and this course Coddington undoubtedly pursued from his dislike for 
Samuel Gorton.^ Williams, from his trading post near Wickford, 

^Portsmouth Rec. p. 35, 37. 

Tor this phase of Williams's life, see Narr. Hist. Reg. ii, 25. 

^Prov. Rec. xv, 11. 

*The General Assembly record does not mention the specific nature of 
these charges, but Coddington says that the case in question was one with 
William Dyer. (J, Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. vi, 321.) The records of the Court 
of Trials (MS. volume in Sec. of State's office) mention the case as one of 
assault and battery. Coddington and Dyer signed an agreement of reconcilia- 
tion, Mar. 14, 1656, {Narr. Cluh. Puhl. vi, 294). 

"^^See his letter to Winthrop in Hutchinson, Collection of Papers, p. 224. 



The Period of the First Charter, 1648-63. 87 

viewed the proceedings with much trepidation. "Our poor colony", 
he writes, "is in civil dissension. Their last meetings, at which I 
have not been, have fallen into factions. Mr. Coddington and Captain 
Partridge, etc., are the heads of the one, and Captain Clarke, Mr. 
Easton, etc., the heads of the other faction", and again, "The colony 
now looks with the torn face of two parties, and the greater number 
of Portsmouth with other loving friends adhering to them, appear as 
one grieved party ; the other three towns, or greater part of them, 
appear to be another".^ Williams's proposal for a general conference 
met with but little response. The Coddington party cherished designs 
and ambitions which no attempt at arbitration could frustrate. 

The first move in the scheme was made in September, 1648. William 
Coddington and Captain Partridge presented to the Commissioners of 
the United Colonies the following application : 

' ' Our request and motion is in the behalf of our Island ; that we the 
Islanders of Rhode Island may be received into combination with all 
the United Colonies of New England in a firm and perpetual league 
of friendship and amity; of offence and defence, mutual advice and 
succor, upon all just occasions, for our mutual safety and welfare, and 
for preserving of peace amongst ourselves ; and preventing, as much 
as may be, all occasions of war and difference ; and to this our motion 
we have the consent of the major part of our Island".- The Commis- 
sioners responded that the request should be granted only in case the 
Islanders should acknowledge themselves within the jurisdiction of 
Plymouth. This condition was no bar to Coddington 's traitorous de- 
sign. In company with Captain Partridge, says Williams, he re- 
turned "with propositions for Rhode Island to subject to Plymouth; 
to which himself and Portsmouth incline ; our other three towns 
decline".^ Such action would have been a complete disavowal of 
opinions which the people of Rhode Island had cherished for over a 
decade. Forgetful of the agency of Roger Williams both in procuring 
the grant of Aquedneck and in obtaining the Charter, this Newport 
Royalist would have deserted him when he most needed the help and 
strength of the larger towns ; disregarding those principles of religious 
liberty for which he had contended for so many years, he would have 
subjected himself and his companions to a colony where church and 
state were one ; unmindful of the hardships and self-sacrifice which all 
had undergone in order to found an abode of democracy and toleration 

^Narr. Club. Pull, vi, 150, 166. 
^Request and reply in Plym. Rec. ix, 110. 
''Narr. Club. Publ. vi, 154. 



88 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

in the New World, he would have abandoned the two smaller towns to 
be overcome by their aggressive neighbors. Fortunately the great 
majority in the colony saw fit to continue the ''experiment" and 
Rhode Island was saved. 

Failing to impress even the people of his own town with the wisdom 
of destroying their government, Coddington was now prepared to 
execute a more covert, but equally destructive, scheme. He had wit- 
nessed the decline of his own influence, due to his unwillingness to act 
with his fellow colonists in their contentions with Massachusetts, and 
he now thought that harmony could be restored only through the 
restoration of his own authority. Ambition and a mistaken idea of 
his own importance caused in him the desire to be absolute ruler of the 
Island. As Dr. Turner has said in his most excellent account of Cod- 
dington : * ' Almost any man would be in favor of monarchy, if he 
could be king"; and Coddington was no exception to the rule. Not 
disclosing his design to any one, he sailed for England in January, 
1649, leaving Captain Partridge in charge of his affairs at Newport.^ 
Of Tiis subsequent fortunes we shall hear later. 

During his absence, matters went on in the same inharmonious 
routine as before. At a special meeting of the Assembly in March, 
1649, Williams was chosen Deputy-President, and charters of incor- 
poration were granted to the different towns." The annual May ses- 
sions for 1649 and 1650 resulted in the regular elections of officers, and 
in the making and amending of certain laws to suit new conditions. 
The most important item of business at these meetings w^as the effort 
to resist the intended occupancy by Massachusetts of the Pawtuxet 
and Shawomet lands. At Pawtuxet dwelt the little band of men, led 
by the Arnolds, who had subjected themselves to Massachusetts in 
1642, and who thenceforth kept that colony constantly informed as to 
Rhode Island affairs. Their refusal to pay taxes and to attend the 
colony courts led Rhode Island legislators to make frequent complaints 
of their traitorous conduct.^ At Shawomet, also, Massachusetts still 

^Narr. Club Piibl. vi, 169; R. I. Hist. Tracts, iv, 50. 

^'The Charter for Providence is in Prov. Rec. ii, 113, 151. That for War- 
wick is copied in the MS. records of that town. The Portsmouth charter is 
referred to in the Port. Rec. p. 41. 

^This Pawtuxet body took every opportunity to oppose Rhode Island inter- 
ests, and were thoroughly determined to belong to the jurisdiction of Massa- 
setts. In a letter of Aug. 11, 1653, they ask that "some small rate" shall be 
laid upon them, and that officers shall be appointed to collect it. The rest of 
the letter, as usual, is filled with abuse of Rhode Island, this time directed 
against the people of Warwick, whom they accuse of restraining some of their 
inhabitants from subjecting themselves to Massachusetts. (Letter in Ex- 
tracts from Mass. MSS. ii, 144, in R. I. Hist. Soc. Library.) 



The Period of the First Charter, 1648-63. 89 

claimed jurisdiction. In June, 1650, Plymouth, at the request of a 
Bay commissioner, relinquished whatever claim to Shawomet and Paw- 
tuxet lands she possessed. The Commissioners of the United Colonies, 
however, advised that the lands in question should be restored to Ply- 
mouth, and the Massachusetts Court acceded.^ 

To all of these assignments of her territory, Rhode Island made a 
vigorous protest. At this time when the interchange of warnings and 
summons could have engendered little good feeling between the two 
colonies, there occurred an exhibition of Puritan intolerance which 
must have obliterated what little friendship there was left. In July, 
1651, three members of the Newport church— John Clarke, Obadiah 
Holmes, and John Crandall— were deputed to visit an aged fellow 
member, who was residing near Lynn. Scarcely had they arrived and 
begun holding worship in the house when they were arrested, "being 
strangers". A few days later they Avere tried at Boston, charged with 
being anabaptists, and heavily fined. Holmes, for refusing to pay 
his fine, was so unmercifully beaten with a corded whip that it was a 
torture for him to move for many weeks afterwards.- Thus did the 
Massachusetts clergy, through the fear of being deprived of their 
temporal power, repress those who dared to worship God in their own 
manner. Bigoted as they were, they could not heed Clarke's pro- 
phetic warning that the "forcing of men in matters of conscience 
towards God to believe as others believe, and to practise and worship 
as others do, cannot stand with the peace, liberty, prosperity and 
safety of a place, commonwealth, or nation". 

Coddington, in the meanwhile, had succeeded in having himself 
installed as ruler of Aquedneck. He had entered a petition with the 
Council of State, praying for a personal grant of the islands of Aqued- 
neck and Conanicut from Parliament. He stated that he had discov- 
ered those islands, had purchased them of the Indians and lived in 
quiet enjoyment ever since, and was now desirous of being governed 
by English laws under the protection of the Commonwealth. On 
April 3, 1651, after nearly a year's delay, he was commissioned as 
Governor of the two islands. He was allowed to raise forces for de- 
fence, and to appoint annually not more than six counsellors, who, 

^See Mass. Col. Rec. iii, 216, iv, 16; Plym. Rec. ix, 170; Arnold, i, 230. The 
ease with which Massachusetts could assign and reassign Rhode Island lands 
is chiefly explained by the disparity in the size of the two colonies. 

^The chief original sources for this narrative are in Backus's Hist, of Bap- 
tists, i, 207, Clarke's III Newes, and Cobbett's Civil Magistrate's Power. The 
best modern treatment is H. M. King's Visit of three Rhode Islanders to Mass. 
Bay. 



90 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

however, were to be nominated by the freeholders of Newport and 
Portsmouth.^ There is not the slightest doubt that Coddington 
obtained this commission under false pretences. His representation 
as to personal ownership of the island was certainly untrue, and was 
expressly denied by him a year later. That his neighbors so regarded 
it, is shown in Dexter 's letter to Vane of August, 1654, in which he 
says, ' ' We were in complete order, until Mr. Coddington, wanting that 
public, self-denying spirit which you commend to us in your letter, 
procured by most untrue information, a monopoly of part of the 
colony, viz., Rhode Island to himself, and so occasioned our general 
disturbance and distractions".^ 

Coddington 's return to Rhode Island in the late summer of 1651 is 
strongly in contrast with the return of Williams seven years previous. 
Sixty-five of the inhabitants of Newport, and forty-one at Portsmouth, 
joined in requesting John Clarke to proceed to England and there 
seek a repeal of the commission.^ The inhabitants of Providence and 
Warwick immediately took active exertions towards raising two hun- 
dred pounds to send Williams to England.'* Overcome by their impor- 
tunities, he sold his trading house at Narragansett, petitioned the Bay 
for passage through their jurisdiction, and embarked at Boston prob- 
ably in November, 1651. He and Clarke, though acting for different 
constituencies, both sought the same object— the repeal of Codding- 
ton 's commission. 

The sudden arrival of Coddington with his commission left the two 
northern towns in the unenviable position of having to form a new 
government. As Arnold wrote to the Bay rulers : * * Coddington hath 
broken the force of their charter, because he have gotten away the 
greater part of the colony". After a preparatory organization at 
Warwick in October, the commissioners of the two towns met at Provi- 
dence in November, 1651, and declared that the Island towns had 
deserted from the chartered government formerly established. Act- 

^The proceedings of the Council are given in Calendar of State Papers, 
Colonial, 1574-1666, pp. 335-354. See also Palfrey, ii, 344. 

-R. /. C. R. ii, 50, 287. 

'Staples's Annals, p. 82. Coddington wrote Winthrop that the plantation 
"hath not hitherto succeeded as was expected by me", and said that a rebel- 
lion had been occasioned by some proceedings against William Dyer. (// 
Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. vi, 322; vii, 282.) Dyer and some others petitioned 
Massachusetts in Nov., 1651, for freedom to embark at Boston on their way 
to seek redress in English courts. (Copied in Extracts from Mass. MSS. i, 
53, in R. I. H. S. Library.) 

••Letter to Mass. from William Arnold, who hopes that their purpose may 
be frustrated and humbly desires that his name be concealed, Sept. 1, 1651 
{R. I. C. R. i, 234). See also Narr. Club PuU. vi, 228, 231,297. 



The Period of the First Charter, 1648-63. 91 

ing under that charter, they chose a President — Samuel Gorton— and 
enacted that the legislature should henceforth consist of six men from 
each town in the colony.^ Gorton called a general assembly for May, 
1652, when they elected a new set of officers, and ordered among sev- 
eral laws of minor importance, that no slave, black or white, could be 
held in servitude for more than ten years. This was one of the very 
first laws ever made which provided for the emancipation of the 
negro. ^ 

A small controversy now arose between Providence and Warwick 
which showed that some strong hand was necessary in order to keep 
the inhabitants from bickering over matters of trivial importance. In 
July, 1652, the Providence commissioners wrote to Warwick, com- 
municating the latest advices from Roger Williams and proposing the 
appointment of a committee to compose an answering letter of encour- 
agement. To this Warwick assented, and further provided that the 
committee might if they saw fit, treat with Newport and Portsmouth 
about expressing the unanimous desire of the four towns of renewing 
the Charter. But the Providence men would not contemplate this 
"enlargement" of their plans and in a plainly written letter replied 
to that effect.^ They met at Providence in October and drew up a 
reply according to their own way of thinking, in which they urged 
that Williams should have himself appointed by Parliament as Gov- 
ernor for one year. At the next meeting, held at Warwick, the com- 
missioners declared against certain particulars in the letter which were 
"contrary to the end for which the said Roger Williams was sent". 
And so these and other matters of local importance— engendering 
"uncivil speeches", vilification of neighbors, and allegations of ille- 
gality—continued to disturb the meetings of this truncated remnant 
of a colony, until the success of Williams 's mission made them abandon 
local animosities to face problems of state. 

At Newport Coddington was rapidly discovering that even the 
smallest of monarchies cannot be successful with disaffected subjects. 
One cause of controversy was his -svithholding of the original purchase 
deeds of the Island. The settlers knew that he had obtained his com- 
mission through representing himself as sole purchaser, and this claim 
they made him flatly disavow by inducing him to deliver over to them 

'Prov. Rec. xv, 49; R. I. C. R. i, 233-38. 

^R. I. C. R. i, 243. 

'These three letters, all dated in July, 1652, are in Copies of Warwick Rec- 
ords, p. 3-4, in R. I. Hist. Soc. Library; and in Prov. Rec. xv, 56. See also 
R. I. C. R. i, 249, 356. 



92 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

all the original deeds and records.^ Another cause of trouble had its 
origin in controversies begun in the mother country. The war that 
had been declared between England and Holland early in 1652 spread 
to the New World, and led to certain restrictions upon the enterprising 
Dutch traders who had already opened a flourishing commercial inter- 
course between New York and Narragansett Bay. In April, 1652, 
some letters borne by Dutch messengers to Governor Coddington were 
intercepted, opened, and found to contain an offer of soldiers to be 
employed against the inhabitants of Rhode Island. The General 
Assembly immediately charged both Coddington and the Dutch 
Director with conspiracy and treason.^ Although the case does not 
seem to have been pressed, the event does not display the character of 
Coddington in the most favorable light. 

In England, Williams and Clarke were striving to obtain the repeal 
of Coddington 's commission. The disturbed condition of affairs re- 
sulting from the Dutch war, and the vigorous opposition of the other 
New England agents greatly hindered them in their undertaking.^ 
But the influence of Sir Henry Vane— the "sheet-anchor of our ship", 
as Williams called him— coupled with the fact that the colony, in its 
disordered condition, might fall into the hands of the Dutch, finally 
induced Parliament to revoke the commission. The document, dated 
October 2, 1652, empowered the magistrates and people of the colony 
to administer the government by virtue of previous instructions, until 
further directions should be given.'* With the hope of obtaining a 
final determination, and also for the purpose of settling some private 
affairs,^ Williams continued to remain in England until the spring of 
1654. The news of the provisional repeal, however, was immediately 
conveyed to the colony by William Dyer, who arrived there in the early 
part of the year 1653. 

There was no reason now why the towns should not unite again 
under the terms of the Charter of 1644. But local animosities and 

'R. I. C. R. i, 50, under date of Apr. 14, 1652. 

^O'Callaghan's Doc. Col. Hist, of N. Y. i, 497. 

^See Williams's Letters in Narr. Club. Publ. vi, 254, and Copies of Warwick 
Records, p. 4 in R. I. H. S. Library. 

^The document is printed in Palfrey ii, 557. It makes special provision 
for defending the colony against the Dutch, and advises the appointment of 
William Dyer as a sort of admiralty officer to report the capture of Dutch 
vessels, etc. 

^Narr. Club. Publ. vi, 236. While in England, Williams tutored, read 
Dutch with Milton (Narr. Club Publ. vi, 262) and published four controversial 
pamphlets (see titles in J. C. Brown Catalogue) . Clarke also published his 
III Newes from N. E. in 1652. 



The Period of the First Charter, 1648-63. 93 

jealousies prevailed. Freed as they had been for so many years from 
the restrictive influence of a religious supervision, accustomed as they 
Avere to almost complete political freedom, these colonies had yet to 
learn that the wish of the individual must be subordinated to the good 
of the state. The two northern towns held that as their government 
under the charter had never been interrupted, they constituted the 
legal colony.^ The two island towns, since they possessed the greater 
population and importance, acted most independently, and paid 
scarcely any attention to Pro\ddence plans for union, unless the main- 
land towns should sue for it from island assemblies. Thus, for nearly 
two years there were two distinct governmental bodies, each profess- 
ing to act for the whole colony, and each often passing laws directly 
in repudiation of the other's action. - 

^See the letter from Providence to Roger Williams in Staples's Annals of 
Providence, p. 89. 

-Since the action of these separate assemblies has never been given in 
orderly detail, and since unused manuscripts throw some new light on the 
subject, it is here briefly summed up in a footnote. In February, 1653, Dyer 
wrote to both Providence and Warwick that he had some letters of trust 
which he would communicate to them at a meeting in Portsmouth. {Prov. 
Rec. XV, 52.) Thereupon the commissioners of the two northern towns met 
on Feb. 25, and sent down messengers with overtures of union, to which they 
received no reply; nor did a request, at a meeting of Mar. 9, for the mutual 
appointment of committees avail anything further (R. I. C. R. i, 239, 269). 
The two island towns met on Mar. 1, and, styling themselves the "Assembly 
of the colony", declared that all officers should stand until the May election. 
{Idem. p. 240.) On Mar. 18, they wrote a letter to Providence and Warwick, 
informing them of the approaching election in May, and telling what legis- 
lation was to be discussed. The mainland towns replied that they would meet 
to discuss reunion, upon ten days' notice. Receiving no reply to this they 
met on May 16 and elected officers for their own two towns (Idem, p. 258; see 
also Prov. Rec. xv, 34, 64, 65). On May 17 the island towns met, elected 
officers for the colony including assistants for Providence and Warwick, made 
several laws, and granted commissions to privateers to go against the Dutch. 
{R. I. C. R. i, 263.) The northern towns met on June 3, and drew up a re- 
monstrance, stating how their attempts at reunion had been disregarded, and 
complaining of the issue of commissions in the name of the colony. {Idem, 
p. 267.) At a special meeting of Aug. 13, they addressed a letter to Massachu- 
setts concerning her subjects at Pawtuxet. {Idem, p. 271.) The Island 
assembly met at Portsmouth Aug. 16, and drew up a letter in reply to one 
sent by Massachusetts protesting against the capture of a French prize by 
Capt. Hull, acting under a Rhode Island commission. (Mass. letter copied 
in Extracts from Mass. MSS. i, 56, in R. I. H. S. Library.) Their reply was 
in substance, that the Bay protests of illegality would be referred to English 
courts. They transacted various items of business, appointed one committee 
to negotiate with Providence and Warwick, and another to reconcile the 
difficulties on the Island itself. This latter committee reported that "Mr. 
Coddington only will agree to a compliance in case he may be governor and 
act upon his commission". (The records of this important assembly are not 
in R. I. Col. Rec. They are copied in Extracts from Mass. MSS. i, 59, in R. I. 
H. S. Library.) On Sept. 5, William Arnold, at Pawtuxet, communicated to 



94 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Although some of the men of the northern towns strove to heal the 
breach by attending Island assemblies, it was not until August, 1654, 
that a complete reconciliation was effected. The noise of the disorders 
had reached England and drew forth from Sir Henry Vane a stinging 
letter which did much to quicken the union. ' ' Are there no wise men 
among you", he writes, "no public self-denying spirits that at least 
upon grounds of common safety, equity and prudence can find out 
some way or means of union, before you become a prey to common 
enemies ' ' ? The reply of Providence to this letter, although ascribing 
the chief cause of disorders to Newport contentions, admitted that 
which was really the key to the whole situation, namely, the possibility 
that imbibing too much from the "sweet cup [of liberty] hath ren- 
dered many of us wanton and too active". On August 31, 1654, a 
few weeks after the receipt of this letter, commissioners from the four 
towns met and signed general articles of reunion, in which the transac- 
tions of each set of towns during the period of separation were allowed 
to stand, and the government under the Charter of 1644 was resumed. 

The danger of a Coddington monarchy was at last warded off, and 
the disthroned ruler later stated publicly in the General Assembly that 
he did ' ' freely submit to the authority of his Highness in this Colony 
as it is now united, and that with all my heart ".^ The separated 
settlements had come together, but the renewed aggressiveness of their 
neighbors, combined with the exuberant political activity of some of 
their own number prevented them from enjoying the fruits of such a 
union. The insecurities of disjunction were replaced by the perils 
arising from tumultuous town-meetings, especially at Providence,^ 
from outside greed for Rhode Island lands, from Indian depredations, 

the Bay intelligence as to the document sent to England in response to Massa- 
chusetts' protest — a document, by the way, which his own son was one of 
those appointed to draw up (Hutchinson, Collections, p. 253). There were 
apparently no meetings of the northern towns in 1654; but on May 16 of that 
year, there met on the Island a general assembly in which both Providence 
and Warwick were represented. A committee was chosen to compose the 
difficulty with "our dissenting friends". (R. I. C. R. i, 273.) In July came 
the letter from Vane, written Feb. 8, 1654, which did much to bring in the 
dissenters, and which was answered by Providence on Aug. 27. (Idem, p. 
285.) On Aug. 31, commissioners from each of the four towns met and adopt- 
ed articles of reunion. (Idem, p. 276.) 

'R. I. C. R. i, 327, under date of Mar. 12, 1656. 

^^See Prov. Rec. ii, 81; R. I. H. 8. Coll. ix, 60; R. I. H. 8. Proc. 1883-84, p. 
79. A paper, circulated in 1654 by some seditious citizen at Providence, as- 
serting that it was "against the rule of the gospel to execute judgment upon 
transgressors against the public or private weal", drew forth from Williams 
his oft-quoted "parable of the ship" (see Narr. Club Puhl. vi, 278; Backus, 
History of Baptists, 1, 297.) 



The Period of the First Charter, 1648-63, 95 

and from a dozen other dangers that might beset an unstable state. 
Roger Williams, in a letter to Massachusetts in 1655, refers to those 
difficulties with which the Bay was particularly concerned. The 
Indians near AVarwick, says Williams, constantly committed such 
insolences that he remained in daily expectation of a great fire or 
massacre. When questioned for their conduct, they claimed to be 
within Massachusetts jurisdiction. At Pawtuxet also, the four fam- 
ilies who had submitted to the Bay in 1642, continued to evade the 
colony taxes and disobey the colony laws under shelter of the Bay 
authority. Another cause of complaint was the refusal of Massachu- 
setts to sell any powder or guns to Rhode Island people. Williams 
asserted that it was most unjust for the Bay magistrates to allow their 
own race and kindred to be exposed to the horrors of an Indian mas- 
sacre, merely through lack of the means for an adequate defense. In 
his apt metaplior he remarks that although Rhode Island had often 
been esteemed a thorny hedge in the side of Massachusetts, yet even a 
hedge must be maintained as a bulwark against connnon enemies.^ 

An event now occurred which has laid Williams open to the charge 
of inconsistency, and which seems to show that for once at least his 
personal animosities got the better of his usual peace-making spirit, 
William Harris, always in active opposition to AVilliams, had written 
a tract in which, according to his own account, he sought to defend 
"some simple, harmless people" whose conscientious principles for- 
bade them to fight, take oaths, or conform to other colony regulations. 
Williams, who was the president of the colony, inferred from this tract 
that Harris was against all government, and at the May session of the 
Assembly, in 1657, brought against him the charge of high treason. 
The court put the matter over until the July session, and then came 
to the following negative decision. Having found that Harris had 
' ' much bowed the Scriptures to maintain that he Avho can say, it is his 
conscience, ought not to yield subjection to any human order amongst 
men", they admitted that it was ''contemptuous and seditious", and 
discreetly referred the whole matter to John Clarke, the agent in Eng- 
land. All the papers, however, were probably lost at sea, and the 
subject was never again revived. 

Harris may have given vent to his opinions in a contemptuous and 
irritating manner, and expressions of disloyalty and sedition could 

'Williams's letter dated Nov. 15, 1655, is in Narr. Club Puhl. vi, 293. See 
also the letter of May 12th, 1656, on page 299. Winthrop had previously 
admitted the error of state policy in refusing the settlers of Aquedneck pow- 
der for their defence. (Hist, of N. E. ii, 173.) 



96 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

have undoubtedly been inferred from his vigorous writings. But 
Williams must have realized that the charge of high trason could never 
have been supported, and that nothing more could have been accom- 
plished than the possible blackening of his opponent's name. Even if 
the opinions that Harris held were dangerous in principle, they should 
not have formed the ground of such a severe charge unless he attempt- 
ed to carry them into action by resisting the state. The condition of 
the colony at the time was so precarious that it would have been far 
better to pacify than to accuse.^ 

Whether or not on account of his action against Harris, Williams 
was not re-elected President of the colony in the spring of 1657. Ben- 
edict Arnold, who was one of the seceders to Massachusetts and who 
had removed to Newport in 1651, was chosen in his stead. His eleva- 
tion to this high position must have made his father, William Arnold, 
and his other relatives and friends at Pawtuxet realize that their posi- 
tion as subjects of another colony, was not exactly conducive to the 
most harmonious family interests. For on May 26, 1658, William 
Arnold and William Carpenter, in behalf of the inhabitants of Paw- 
tuxet, petitioned for a dismissal from their subjection to the Bay 
government, which the court immediately granted.^ We must notice, 
however, that Roger Williams, filling his usual role of peace-maker, 
is partially accredited with bringing about the reconciliation. 

Rhode Island was finally freed from the troublesome intrusion of an 
alien government, and was now able with a more united front to cope 
with new state problems. One of the first of these difficulties arose 
from the arrival of a sect which, much despised and persecuted in the 
neighboring colonies, brought to Rhode Island a legacy the value of 
which cannot be too highly estimated. For the principles of the 
Friends— or Quakers, as they were termed— being soon espoused by 
many of the leading inhabitants of Rhode Island, exerted a most mod- 
erate and beneficial influence on colony legislation for over a hundred 
years. The first comers of this sect to New England shores arrived at 

^Williams states his side of the controversy in his warrant for Harris's 
arrest (Arnold, i, 263), in a letter of 1668 {Prov. Rec. xv. 122), in a letter of 
1669 (R. I. H. S. Proc. 1877-78, p. 72), and in his George Fox digged out of Ms 
Burrowes (Narr. Club Pxihl. v, 21, 31, 316). See also Booh Notes, xiii, 267. 
The Harris side is given in a letter printed in a small pamphlet published 
in 1896 by Robert Harris, entitled Some William Harris Memoranda, in the 
Plea of the Pawtuxet Purchasers (R. I. H. 8. Puhl. i, 204) and in Fox, iV. E. 
Firebrand quenched^ p. 282. See also Dorr, in R. I. H. S. Coll. ix, 73. The 
official action is in R. I. C. R. i, 361, 363, 396. 

-Mass. Rec. iv, pt. 1, 333. The petition itself and other documents are in 
R. I. H. 8. Coll. ii, 206. 



The Period of the First Charter, 1648-63. 97 

Boston in 1656, and from that time on those "cursed heretics" became 
the special object of Massachusetts legislation. Imprisonment and 
fines, branding and mutilation, banishment and death, were rapidly 
meted out to them until the bigotry of the magistrates seemed to spend 
itself by its own force. 

Ehode Island, ever a haven for distressed consciences, soon became 
a refuge for many of these persecuted people. The Commissioners of 
the United Colonies, perceiving this, wrote to Rhode Island in Septem- 
ber, 1657, asking her to banish the Quakers already there and to pro- 
hibit all future inhabitation. The Rhode Island Assembly immediately 
answered: "We have no law among us whereby to punish any, for 
only declaring by words their minds concerning the things and ways 
of God".^ When again urged in October, 1658, and even threatened 
with commercial excommunication, Rhode Island steadfastly adhered 
to her principles of religious toleration. A letter was sent to John 
Clarke in England asking him to plead "that we may not be com- 
pelled to exercise any civil power over men's consciences, so long as 
human orders in point of civilization are not corrupted and violated. 

While the Quakers were thus being protected in Rhode Island ter- 
ritory, those of the sect who had the temerity to visit the neighboring 
colonies were being subjected to the fiercest persecution. As the letter 
to Clarke expressed it, "The Quakers are constantly going forth 
amongst them about us, and vex and trouble them in point of their 
religion and spiritual state, though they return with many a foul scar 
in their bodies for the same". Several who incurred the censure 
of the magistrates were fined, imprisoned and whipped. But the acme 
of cruelty, so far as Rhode Islanders were concerned, occurred in the 
case of Mary Dyer, wife of William Dyer of Newport. She was a 
brave, devout woman, who hoped that her persistent defiance of the 
Bay laws would force from the rulers a repeal of the cruel death 
penalty. Returning to Boston for the third time under pain of death, 
she was arrested and hung, June 1, 1660. But these revolting scenes 
were put to a stop in the following year by the royal command of 
Charles II, and the increasing number of the Quakers finally forced 
the magistrates to respect their rights.^ 

Soon after the arrival of the Quakers, Rhode Island embarked upon 
a series of disputes concerning the Narragansett country that was to 

^R. I. G. R. i, 374; Rogers's Mary Dyer, p. 83. 

=The story of Mary Dyer is graphically told in Horatio Rogers's mono- 
graph on the subject. For a list of references on the Quaker persecution, 
see the preface to Judge Rogers's volume and Winsor, Narr. and Grit. Hist. 
iii, 359, 503. 



98 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

last for many years. This great tract of land, extending from the 
south line of the Warwick purchase to the ocean, and from Narragan- 
sett Bay to Connecticut's eastern boundary line, was in a most unset- 
tled state as regards both ownership and jurisdiction. The original 
territory of the Narragansetts stretched towards the southwest at 
least as far as Wecapaug Brook, a little stream about five miles east 
of the Pawcatuck.^ This whole tract, "extending about twenty-five 
English miles into the Pequod river and country", was included under 
the authority of Rhode Island in the Charter of 1644. Rhode Island, 
therefore, henceforth assumed jurisdiction of the tract. Connecticut, 
replying upon the Lords Say and Seal Patent of 1631, which granted 
territory as far east as the "Narragansett river", also laid claim to it. 
Massachusetts, although having no claim to Narragansett lands, de- 
manded a share of the Pequot country as her portion of the spoils of 
the Pequot war; and in 1658 the Federal Commissioners decided that 
her claim was good, as far as the Mystic River.^ Still another claim- 
ant for the Rhode Island lands were the heirs of the Duke of Hamilton, 
to whom the Plymouth Council had granted in 1635 all the territory 
between the Connecticut and Narragansett rivers.^ 

This much desired Narragansett country, which had so many claim- 
ants, contained no permanent settlement until long after the arrival of 
the 1644 Charter. Richard Smith, John Wilcox and Roger Williams 
had bought land of the Indians, and had erected trading-houses near 
the present Wickford about 1641.* But no settlement of a permanent 
nature was attempted until July, 1658, when Samuel Wilbur and three 
others of Portsmouth, and John Hull of Boston bought from the In- 

^Nearly all the early Massachusetts and Connecticut authorities set Weca- 
paug as the boundary between the Narragansetts and Pequots. (See R. I. 
H. 8. Coll. iii, 27, 56, 233, 263-267; R. I. H. 8. Puhl. viii, 72.) But Williams 
supposed the Narragansett country to have extended originally as far as the 
Pawcatuck (Narr. Club Puhl. vi, 340). The testimony of several Narragan- 
sett sachems in 1661-2 also favors this latter view. (See R. I. H. 8. Coll. iii, 
242-247.) 

^Plym. Col. Rec. x, 209. Massachusett's claim affected the present R. I. 
territory only upon condition that the conquered Pequot country had pre- 
viously extended as far east as Wecapaug. 

^This claim never had any force, and was finally declared obsolete in 1697. 
(See Bowen, Boundary Disputes of Conn. p. 21.) 

*J. W. Gardiner, in Narr. Hist. Reg. ii, 25, shows with much degree of 
plausibility that Williams may more properly be considered the pioneer of 
Narragansett than Richard Smith. John Wilcox's claim as "first settler" is 
advanced in Narr. Hist. Reg. ix, 60; see also Idem, viii, 269. The claim of 
the Dutch, who had trading stations at Charlestown even before the planting 
of Providence, should not be forgotten (Dawson's Hist. Mag. vii, 42.) 



The Period of the First Charter, 1648-63. 99 

dians what was known as the Pettaquamscut Purchase. This com- 
prised approximately the southeastern quarter of the Narragansett 
country. In the following year Major Humphrey Atherton and his 
partners purchased two tracts from the Indians— Quidnesset and 
Boston Neck— or roughly speaking, the eastern half of the present 
North Kingstown.^ 

If the Narragansett country was included within the patent of 1644 
as it undoubtedly was— then the Atherton purchase was in direct 
contravention of Rhode Island law ; for in November, 1658, the General 
Assembly had ordered that all unauthorized purchases from the In- 
dians of lands within the colony would be made under penalty of for- 
feiture.- This law received a still further wrench in September, 1660, 
when the Narragansett sachems, unable to pay a heavy fine of 500 
fathoms of wampum forced upon them by the United Colonies, mort- 
gaged all their land to Major Atherton and his associates on condition 
that the mortgagees should pay the fine. This Atherton did, 
and since the Indians did not discharge the mortgage within 
the specified time of six months, the Atherton company took 
formal possession of the territory.^ All this action, according to the 
"forfeiture laws" of November, 1658, was illegal and void. Rhode 
Island never attempted to oust the Atherton men from those lands 
that they had purchased from the Indians before that date, but, rely- 
ing upon her sole jurisdiction under the Charter of 1644, she fought 
persistently to the end against this questionable mortgage. 

Another dispute had already been begun concerning the lands in the 
extreme southwestern part of the Narragansett country. It will be 
remembered that the territory between the Wecapaug and Pawcatuck 
Rivers had been claimed by Massachusetts under the Commissioners' 
award of 1658. Immediately after this decision, the Bay magistrates 

^These two purchases took in the most fertile and desirable parts of the 
Narragansett country. For matters of detail concerning the Pettaquamscut 
Purchase, see R. I. H. S. Coll. iii, 275-299. Atherton's partners in his pur- 
chase were Gov. Winthrop of Connecticut, Richard Smith and his son of 
Narragansett and three Massachusetts men. The Atherton partners also pur- 
chased Point Judith in 1660, which sale, however, was made invalid by the 
previous Pettaquamscut Purchase. They made much pretension towards 
settlement, even ordering in 1660 that all lots not built and settled upon with- 
in two years should be forfeited. For boundaries and other details of their 
purchase, see The Fones Record, and R. I. H. S. Coll. iii, 269. See also the 
map showing the original purchases in Narragansett in .J. N. Arnold's State- 
vient of the Case of the Narragansett Tribe of Indians. 

-R. I. C. R. i, 403; also Narr. Club. Publ. vi, 343. 

'See Plym. Rec. x, 227, 248; R. I. C. R. i, 465; R. I. H. S. Coll. iii, 61, 234. 

LofC. 



100 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

erected the lands on both sides of the Paweatuck into a town, by the 
name of Southertown.^ Two years later, in 1660, some inhabitants of 
Newport, acting upon the principle that Massachusetts' claim to the 
territory was without foundation, purchased from the Narragansett 
sachems the tract of land between the Wecapaug and Paweatuck 
Rivers, and began a settlement there. ^ This tract, called by the Indians 
Misquamicuck, was later named Westerly. The Bay magistrates im- 
mediately took action, and after sending a letter of protest to Rhode 
Island through the Federal commissioners, issued warrants for the 
arrest of the trespassers. Three were captured and brought to Bos- 
ton, two of whom— Tobias Saunders and Robert Burdick— were fined 
and committed to jail for non-payment. To this summary act Rhode 
Island naturally took exception, affirming that the settlement was 
legally made and proposing to refer the whole matter to the King.* 
The matter remained in abeyance for over a year, during which period 
the inhabitants on either side of the Paweatuck kept up a virtual 
border warfare most injurious to the peace of the colony. 

These claims and encroachments upon Rhode Island territory, made 
possible by the ill-defined bounds of the First Charter, were the prin- 
cipal cause of a desire for a new and more specific instrument. This 
document, moreover, had been granted by Parliament, which was dis- 
placed in 1660 by the allies of the King. The monarchy was now 
restored in the person of Charles II. If Rhode Island wished tO' 
receive royal favor and recognition, she must needs exist under a 
charter other than that granted by a body whose proceedings were not 
recognized by the present ruling power. 

Connecticut, however, had forstalled Rhode Island in this matter of 
procuring a charter. Through the able negotiation of John Win- 
throp, the younger, she had obtained in May, 1662, a charter granting^ 
powers and privileges of the most unusual latitude. According to its 
terms, the eastern boundary of Connecticut extended as far as "Nar- 
rogancett River, commonly called Narrogancett Bay". These bounds, 

^See Mass. Col. Rec. iv, pt. 1, 353. Southertown was later named Stoning- 
ton. 

^The deeds and several other documents relative to the subject are in 
R. I. H. S. Coll. iii, 241-269. The validity of the title to this tract depended 
upon whether the Narragansetts or the Pequots owned the land before the 
Pequot war. (See note on p. 98.) It is a question that can scarcely be set- 
tled at the present day, since the Indian witnesses furnished nearly the entire 
testimony. 

'The documents relating to these matters are in R. I. C. R. i, 455-463, 469,. 
493; Plym. Col. Rec. x, 267, 287. 



The Period op the First Charter. 1648-63. 101 

it will be seen, clashed with those of the Charter of 1644, and made it 
j necessary for the Rhode Island agent to take immediate action. For- 
tunate it was for the colony that its affairs were entrusted to one so 
able and diplomatic as Dr. John Clarke. During the very year of the 
granting of the Connecticut instrument, he had presented two peti- 
! tions to the King, in which he affirmed that the people of his colony 
! had it ' ' much on their hearts, if they may be permitted, to hold forth 
a lively experiment, that a flourishing civil state may stand, yea, and 
best be maintained, Avith a full liberty in religious concernments".^ 

So forceful were Clarke's objections to the boundaries of the Con- 
necticut charter, that Winthrop was compelled to overstay his time 
abroad in order to compose the differences between them. In April, 
1663, the justice of Rhode Island's claim was recognized by the award 
of four arbitrators, who decided that the "Pawcatuck River should be 
the certain bounds between the two colonies, which said river should 
for the future be also called alias Narrogansett, or Narrogansett 
River"; and also that the Atherton Company should "have free lib- 
erty to choose to which of the colonies they should belong".^ This 
agreement was signed by both the agents and the danger to both char- 
ters was averted. Having settled this difficulty, Clarke was noAv ready 
to act. So well had he bespoken the royal patronage and gained the 
esteem of influential men, especially of the Earl of Clarendon, that on 
July 8, 1663, he obtained a charter completely confirming the Rhode 
Island boundary claims, and making concessions even more liberal 
than those granted to Connecticut.^ In the following chapter allusion 

^R. I. C. R. i, 490. These two petitions, although undated, are probably of 
the year 1662. See Arnold i, 280. 

-R. I. C. R. i, 518. This terming the Pawcatuck, the Narragansett, was 
merely a compromise in order to conform to the wording of the Connecticut 
charter. This action of Winthrop's was subsequently disowned by Connecti- 
cut, upon the ground that his commission expired as soon as the charter was 
obtained. Such a disavowal, however, possessed no legal force when con- 
trasted with the royal wish expressed in the explicit wording of the R. I. 
charter of 1663. 

^The original documents for a study of Clarke's career in obtaining the^ 
charter may be found in Calendar of State Papers. Colonial series, 16G1-160S, 
pp. 20, 110, 145, 148; R. I. C. R. i, 432, 485, 518, et passim; 5 Mass. H. S. Coll. 
viii, 75-79, ix, 33, 37-44, 50-53; R. I. H. S. PuU. viii, 147; and Arnold, Hist, of 
R. I. i, 378-383. For an account of the imputation made upon Clarke's char- 
acter by the historian Grahame, which later became the subject of a spirited 
controversy between Josiah Quincy and George Bancroft, see Hist. Mag. ix, 
233; Quincy, Memory of the late James Grahame vindicated ; Arnold, i, 370. 
and Palfrey, iii, 431. A letter of June, 1663, inimical to Clarke's interests, 
which was obtained from the King by one John Scot, is discussed in copious 
foot-notes in Palfrey ii, 564; Aspinwall, Narragansett Patent, p. 30; and in 
Arnold, i, 300, 383. 



102 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

will be made to the reception and installation of this charter, and some 
attention will be given to its separate provisions. 

Rhode Island had finally completed the first period of her colony- 
existence, and could now look forward to the future with more confi- 
dence and hope. She had weathered the storms and hardships inci- 
dent to the beginnings of all settlements, and though threatened with 
anarchy from -within and oppression from without, she had held fast 
to the free and lofty principles that distinguished her from her neigh- 
bors. In spite of the warnings and forebodings of her incredulous 
Puritan opponents, in spite of their scorn and reviling, she persevered 
to the end, and clearly showed to them and to the world that a state 
could stand, even although it permitted a man to worship God as he 
saw fit. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

FROM THE CHARTER OF 1663 TO KING PHILIP'S WAR. 

The Rhode Island Charter of 1663, which doubtless contained more 
liberal provisions than did any similar instrument ever granted by a 
monarch, which was expansive enough to remain as Rhode Island's] 
only basis of government for one hundred and eighty years, and which j 
at the time of its death was the oldest constitutional charter in exist- 
ence, is surely worthy of careful study. In the first place the Con- 
necticut and Rhode Island Charters mark a great departure in the] 
line of constitutional powers of government granted to those incor- 
porated. Previous royal charters, outside of those of the proprietary] 
type, intended merely the exercise of rights of trade and commerce. 
It was purely a commercial venture, entered into by the individual] 
as proprietor or by the colony as a corporation. England had Spain's] 
example of assisting such commercial projects and hoped to reap the 
same rich reward. It is doubtful if the Massachusetts Charter oi 
1629, which is the best type of the earlier colonial charters, intendec 
the least exercise of governmental powers.^ By 1663, however, the 

'W. E. Foster, in a paper on the R. I. Cha'ter of 1663, read before the R. LJ 
Historical Society Nov. 13, 1888, thus summed up the opinions of those writers 
who had expressed themselves in regard to this much discussed subject; 
"First, those who take the ground that the Massachusetts Charter was essen-j 
tially that of a trading corporation, including Gov. Hutchinson, George ChaH 



From the Charter of 1663 to King Philip's War. 103 

commercial attitude of the colonies had considerably worn away. Im- 
migration had set in, and persons sought out the New World for 
purposes far other than those of trade. The Massachusetts colonists, 
whatever may have been the intentions and desires of the home govern- 
ment, had construed their original grant as providing all powers of 
local self-government, and were rapidly adjusting it to suit their 
material welfare. Towns were incorporated, courts organized, taxes 
levied, laws enacted restricting civil and personal rights — and all with- 
out reference to the fountainhead of their authority, the English 
throne. Rapidly, indeed, had the powers of colony government devel- 
oped in Puritan New England. So far were they advanced that we 
find the Connecticut grantees, according to their charter of 1662, 
authorized by the King to make virtually whatever laws they liked 
that were not "contrary to the laws and statutes of the realm of 
England". In the following year came the charter of Rhode Island. 
Here we find a still further advance. In a similar manner Rhode 
Island law-makers could enact Avhat laws they desired, "so as they be 
not contrary or repugnant unto the laws of this our realm of Eng- 
land", and then comes the conditional and practically annulling clause 
"considering the nature and constitution of the place and people 
there". 

Under such a provision Rhode Island might as well have been an ab- 
solutely independent state. We should certainly be justified in assert- 
ing that English political thought had changed most strangely were it 
not for the fact that these liberal provisions were but in reiteration 
of the patent of 1644. The chief reason why the later instrument is 
remarkable and worthy of especial attention is that it was granted 
under the hand of royal authority. The parliamentary patent, to be 
sure, marked a forward step in political freedom, but it should be 
remembered that it was granted by a revolutionary government, at a 
time when allegiance to supreme authority was somewhat weakened 
and when the bestoAval of favors was a necessary adjunct to the intro- 
duction of a new regime. The charter of 1663, however, had no such 
contributory aids to its establishment. That, with such an austere 
monarch as Charles II on the throne, it did pass the seals of the Royal 
Council, is as noteworthy as it was unexampled. 

mers, James Grahame, Charles Deane, and Brooks Adams. Second, those 
who hold that the charter warranted the exercise of governmental powers 
under it. Including Dr. Palfrey, Judge Parker, and Judge Aldrich. Third, 
those who hold a somewhat intermediate view, including Judge Chamberlain, 
J. A. Doyle and Geo. Ellis." Mr. Foster himself rather favors Dr. Deane's 
view. 



104 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Even more notable than this grant of political power was the 
specific and absolute bestowal of perfect religious liberty. Although 
England refused religious toleration to her subjects, yet we find in this 
royal charter the following remarkable clause : ' ' Our royal will and 
pleasure is, that no person Avithin the said colony, at any time here- 
after, shall be anywise molested, punished, disquieted, or called in 
question, for any differences in opinion in matters of religion, and do 
not actually disturb the civil peace of our said colony . . . any 
law, statute or clause therein contained, or to be contained, usage or 
custom of this realm, to the contrary hereof, in any wise, notwithstand- 
ing".^ Rhode Island had gained what the mother country could not. 
That this grant excited some dismay among the more fearful of the 
English courtiers is true. Roger Williams, evidently referring to this 
provision, says: "This his Majesty's grant was startled at by his 
Majesty's high officers of state, who were to view it in course before 
the sealing, but, fearing the lion's roaring, they crouched, against their 
wills, in obedience to his Majesty's pleasure".- That which Charles 
was unwilling to bestow upon the great English nation, he did grant 
to the little insignificant colony beyond the seas. Thus unconsciously 
Avas he laying the foundation of what is now considered a fundamental 
principle in religion. 

All the provisions of this charter were as free and as favorable to 
the grantees as the clauses relating to religion and to the limitation of 
political power. The government was to be vested in a governor, 
deputy-governor, ten assistants, and several deputies, who, meeting the 
first Wednesday in May and the last Wednesday in October, were to be 
styled the general assembly. The deputies were not to exceed six from 
Newport, four each from Providence, Portsmouth and Warwick, and 
two for each other town. This body was empowered to appoint new 

'The identity of language of this clause with that of the famous "Declara- 
tion from Breda", is worthy of notice. General George Monk, in one of his 
communications to the King, dated in March, 1660, beseeched "his Majesty 
to declare his assent for a toleration and liberty of conscience to all his sub- 
jects, who should so employ it as not to give any disturbance to the civil 
government". A month later, from the little Dutch town of Breda, came the 
response, attested to by the royal signature, "We declare . . . that no 
man shall be disquieted or called in question for differences of opinion in 
matters of religio7i which do not disturb the peace of the kingdorri". (Skin- 
ner's Life of Monk, p. 301, Echard's Hist, of England, ii, 897.) These signifi- 
cant words, which the King was scarcely ready to turn into deeds, were widely 
known to the English people at the time of their utterance. Clarke, eager to 
accept every opportunity to further his purpose, must have seized upon this 
clause and incorporated it, almost word for word, in the contemplated charter 
of his colony. 

^Letter to Mason in Narr. Club. Publ. vi, 346. 



From the Charter of 1663 to King Philip's AA^ar. 105 

meetings of the assembly, elect freemen, grant commissions, erect 
courts of judicature,^ prescribe town boundaries, impose fines and 
punishments, declare martial law against any who attempted to invade 
or annoy the colony, and make whatever laws seemed necessary for 
the Avelfare of the inhabitants. The chief officers of the colony were 
to be annually elected by the general body of freemen attending the 
May session of the general assembly. Finally all present and future 
inhabitants Avere to enjoy the liberties and immunities of free and 
natural subjects of the realm of England, together with right of 
appeal to English courts, and provided they conducted themselves 
peaceably, could pass through the other colonies, any law of the said 
colonies to the contrary notwithstanding. 

So far as boundaries were concerned, Rhode Island reaped the 
fruitful harvest of John Clarke's able negotiation. Thoroughly con- 
versant with the numerous conflicting claims to the territory of his 
colony, he readily recognized that the clearest title lay in the fact that 
it was purchased from the Indians. This paramount right of the 
natives to their soil was set forth by him in his previous addresses to 
the King, and was safely embodied in the preamble to the charter. 
According to its specific terms, the grant was bounded on the south by 
the ocean as far west as the Pawcatuck River; on the west by the 
Pawcatuck River extending north as far as its head, and then by a 
straight line due north to the Massachusetts south line ; on the north 
by the said south line ; towards the east it extended three miles ' ' to the 
east and northeast of the most eastern and northeastern parts of 
Narragansett Bay, as the said bay extendeth from the ocean on the 
south, unto the mouth of the river which runneth to the town of Provi- 
dence", thence up the Seekonk River as far as the Pawtucket Falls, 
and thence by a straight line due north to the Massachusetts south 
line. In particular, the grant included Misquamicuk (alias Pawca- 
tuck), the Island of Rhode Island, Block Island, and all the rest of the 
islands in Narragansett Bay and bordering on the coast (Fisher's 
Island alone excepted). One provision especially nullified any con- 
tradictory clause in the "late Connecticut grant", stating that the 
Pawcatuck River had been yielded by the agents of both colonies to be 

'At the meeting of the Assembly in March, 1664, it was ordered that two 
General Courts of trials, presided over by either the governor, deputy-gover- 
nor, and at least six assistants, should be held in May and October at Newport. 
Courts for cases to the value of ten pounds were to be held at Providence and 
"Warwick in September and March respectively, at which at least three assist- 
ants should preside. Special courts might also be called at Newport at any 
time if sufficient cause was shown. 



106 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the fixed bound between the colonies. Both agents had agreed, the 
charter goes on to state, that the Pawcatuck River should also be called 
the Narragansett River, and merely to prevent further disputes, should 
be so deemed in the Connecticut charter. The detail of these bound- 
ary lines has been entered into somewhat minutely, since the phrase- 
ology of the instrument in this respect formed the basis of a great deal 
of Rhode Island's history for the next half-century. Suffice it to say 
that had the colonies with whom Rhode Island disputed held to the 
exact language of this instrument so carefully and skillfully worded 
by John Clarke, boundary controversies would not have played so im- 
portant a part as they did in the colony's history. No charter ever 
granted, with regard to boundaries as well as to the liberties and 
immunities accorded to the grantees, has reflected more credit on its 
author.^ 

The elaborate reception of the charter reminds one of the triumphal 
return of Williams with the Patent of 1644. Thus reads the old 
record: "At a very great meeting and assembly of the freemen of 
the Colony of Providence Plantations, at Newport, in Rhode Island, 
in New England, November the 24, 1663. The abovesaid assembly 
being legally called and orderly met for the solemn reception of his 
Majesty's gracious letters patent unto them sent, and having in order 
thereto chosen the President, Benedict Arnold, moderator of the 
assembly. 

"It was ordered and voted, oieme contra decent e. 1. That Mr. John 
Clarke, the Colony agent's letter to the President, assistants and free- 
men of the Colony, be opened and read, which accordingly was done 
with delivery and attention. 2. That the box in which the King's 
gracious letters were enclosed be opened, and the letters with the broad 
seal thereto affixed, be taken forth and read by Captain George Baxter 
in the audience and view of all the people ; which was accordingly 
done, and the said letters with his Majesty's royal stamp, and the 
broad seal, with much becoming gravity held up on high, and pre- 
sented to the perfect view of the people, and then returned into the 
box and locked up by the Governor, in order to the safe keeping of it. 
3. That the most humble thanks of this Colony unto our gracious sov- 
ereign Lord, King Charles the second, of England, for the high and 
inestimable, yea, incomparable grace and favor unto the colony, in 
giving these his gracious letters patent unto us, thanks may be pre- 
sented and returned by the Governor and Deputy Governor, in the 
behalf of the whole Colony". 

^The Charter itself is printed in R. I. C. R. ii, 3-21, and elsewhere. 



Fkom the Charter of 1663 to King Phiijp's War. 107 

Block Island, as has previously been noted, was joined to Rhode 
Island in the charter. After the murder of Captain Oldham in 1636, 
this island had been taken by Massachusetts "by right of conquest", 
and October 19, 1658, was granted to John Endicott, Richard Belling- 
ham, Daniel Denison and William Hawthorne as a recognition for their 
efficient services to their colony. But the territory was remote and not 
very desirable, and in 1660 was sold to a company of Massachusetts 
men. After considerable discussion as to ways and means, they de- 
cided to remove there, and by 1662 a settlement was begun. Such was 
the condition of affairs at the time of the granting of the Charter of 
1663. The island, though settled by Massachusetts Puritans, natur- 
ally belonged to Rhode Island on account of its location. At any rate, 
the King saw fit to include it within Rhode Island territory, and as the 
settlers themselves never protested, no controversy as to former posses- 
sion arose. ^ 

Soon after the arrival of the charter, at the March session of 1664, 
the General Assembly informed the inhabitants of Block Island that 
they were henceforth under Rhode Island jurisdiction. At the follow- 
ing session, it admitted several of the islanders as freemen, appointed 
selectmen with power to try causes not exceeding forty shillings, told 
them that ' ' no person should be molested for any difference of opinion 
in matters of religion", and gave them liberty to send deputies to the 
General Assembly. After some slight embarrassment in becoming 
accustomed to their new government, they began to enter into colony 
life, accept the colony's assistance and pay colony taxes. In 1672, 
they were incorporated by the General Assembly as the Town of New 
Shoreham, the sixth town, in point of time, to be received into the 
colony. They received a charter empowering them to choose town 
ofificers, and henceforth, so far as their colony relations were con- 
cerned, lived the quiet and untroul)led life that their remoteness 
made possible. 

In the Narragansett country, the state of affairs was different. The 

controversy, apparently settled with unmistakable clearness by the 

Charter of 1663, was only just begun, and remained unsettled until 

over half a century had passed away. As soon as Connecticut had 

'For the early history of Block Island, see the historical sketches by Liver- 
more, Sheffield, and Beckwith; also Mass. Col. Rec. iv, pt. 1, 356. Massachu- 
setts in March, 1664, included Block Island among those lands which were 
subject to controversy (Extracts from Mass. M8S. i, 237, in R. I. H. S. Lib'y), 
and John Alcock petitioned the Royal Commissioners in 1665 that, as Block 
Island had submitted to Rhode Island, he might not be dispossessed of his 
purchase (R. I. C. R. ii, 128). No attempt, however, seems to have been 
made by Massachusetts to question the King's dictum. 



108 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

received her charter, the Federal Commissioners immediately wrote to 
Rhode Island, in September, 1662, that according to the King's pleas- 
ure, the lands at Pawcatuck and Narragansett now belonged to Con- 
necticut. Rhode Island replied that the charter in question had been 
procured "by a underhand dealing, and that the power that granted 
doth so resent it, being now fully informed of the sleights used by those 
that did purchase the same ' ', and William Brenton wrote Connecticut, 
imploring that the differences should be "composed in peace and friend- 
ship"/ Nothing further seems to have been done until July, 1663, 
when the Atherton Company at Narragansett took decisive action by 
submitting themselves to Connecticut jurisdiction. Connecticut, in 
her letter of acceptance, appointed officers for "the plantation at Mr. 
Smith's trading-house", urged "that the said plantation be settled 
with such inhabitants as may promote those religious ends mentioned 
in our Charter", and ordered that the place should henceforth be 
called by the name of Wickford.- 

As soon as Rhode Island received her charter making the Narra- 
gansett country a part of her soil, she immediately took action upon 
these questions of territorial jurisdiction. At the first general assem- 
bly held after its arrival, in March, 1664, she summoned the intruders 
at Narragansett to answer for their conduct at the next meeting of the 
Court, and also wrote a letter to Connecticut complaining of the moles- 
tation of Rhode Islanders at Westerly and giving notice of the inten- 
tion to run the western line. Connecticut, busy with the settlement 
of her own internal affairs, paid no attention to this letter, nor to 
subsequent complaints made by her subjects at Wickford, of Rhode 
Island aggressiveness. Again did Rhode Island write in July, 1664, 
requesting a reply to her former letter, and expressing surprise that 
Connecticut should exercise authority at Narragansett in view of the 
King's decision as to the bounds of that country. Again did those at 
Wickford complain, asserting "Our own inhabitants begin much to 

^Plym. Rec. x, 288; R. I. C. R. i, 495; Extracts from Conn. MSS. relating 
to R. I. i, 5, in R. I. H. S. Library. 

'Ext. Conn. MSS. i, 10, 12; Conn. Rec. i, 407. Tliis submission was in 
accordance with« the third provision of the Winthrop-Clarke agreement, 
although the Atherton partners in a later letter, stated that Connecticut was 
the "place we desired to be under before ever the charter was granted, as may- 
be manifest by our desire to your Governor before his going to England". 
(Ext. Conn. MSS. i, 13.) Wickford received its name from Wickford, Essex 
Co., England, which was the early home of Elizabeth, the wife of Gov. John 
Winthrop, of Connecticut. (See Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc. xiii, 250; Potter's 
Early History of Narragansett, 1886 ed., p. 415.) 



d 



From the Charter of 1663 to King Philip's War. 109 

desert your interest . . . the government of Rhode Island takes 
advantage, we conceive, by your silence and slowness to action"/ 

At last Connecticut realized that, if she wished to obtain the Narra- 
gansett country, she must take immediate action. In a letter to Rhode 
Island of July 20, she requested that that colony should refrain from 
exercising jurisdiction over the Atherton men, who had merely carried 
out one of the provisions agreed to by John Clarke. She further sug- 
gested that before the colony line was run, a meeting of arbiters should 
be held to consider their respective claims. To this Rhode Island 
agreed, and in October commissioners were appointed by both colonies 
to settle the boundary disputes, the Connecticut act of appointment 
providing that ''the said Committee shall not give away any part of 
the bounds of our Charter". Before this joint commission, which on 
account of the Connecticut proviso could never have accomplished any- 
thing, could make arrangements for a meeting, the news arrived that 
the Royal Commission appointed by the King early in 1664, was about 
to visit Rhode Island, and all eyes were turned toward this event. 

This Commission, consisting of Colonel Richard Nicolls, Sir Robert 
Carr, Colonel George Cartwright, and Mr. Samuel Maverick, were 
appointed to reduce the Dutch at New Amsterdam, to gain information 
about the general condition of the New England colonies, to settle all 
colonial disputes, and to define the boundary lines of the several char- 
tered jurisdictions, subject, however, to the approval of the King. 
Arriving at Boston in July, 1664, they soon sailed for New Amster- 
dam, where they settled several controversies in that vicinity, then 
returned east to visit Plymouth, and entered Rhode Island in March, 
1665.2 Their arrival meant a great deal to the colony. The coinci- 
dence of Rhode Island views with the expressed wishes of the King's 
representatives, together with the gratitude felt for the granting of the 
colony charter, made the assurances of allegiance a pleasure rather 
than a duty. Those of the commissioners who had visited the colony 
on their way to New York had been entertained as well as possible, and 
were "pleased to accept that poor expressions of ours as season afford- 
ed"; while to Nicolls was written a letter, acknowledging the receipt of 
the King's behests, desiring a full and equal hearing concerning the 
Narragansett country, and professing devotion to the King and his 
representatives. 

^Ext Conn M8S i, 40, which contains all this contemporary correspond- 
ence. Some of the letters are printed in R. I. Col. Rec. and most of them are 
referred to in Bowen's Boundary Disputes of Conn. pt. 2. 

=The details of their stay in New England, although prejudiced wherever 
Massachusetts is concerned, is best given in Palfrey, v. 2, chap. 15. 



110 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

The method taken by the commissioners in deciding the title to the 
Narragansett country was perhaps the wisest that could have been 
devised. The submission of the Indian sachems procured by Gorton 
in 1644 was made the basis of a decision whereby the whole country 
was taken possession of in the name of the King, legally named King's 
Province, and declared to extend as far west as the Pawcatuck 
River. The pretension of the Atherton Company to the territory by 
virtue of their grand mortgage was declared void, as were also both 
their purchases from the Indians in 1659, in which there was "no men- 
tion of any consideration".^ In addition they ordered that the gov- 
ernor, deputy-governor and assistants of Rhode Island should serve 
as magistrates throughout the Province. At Misquamicuck, likewise, 
they decided that all grants of land made by Massachusetts or by 
"that usurped authority called the United Colonies", to any person 
whatsoever, were void. An added rebuff was given to Massachusetts 
in the declaration that "no colony hath any just right to dispose of 
any lands conquered from the natives, unless both the cause of that 
conquest be just, and the lands lie within those bounds which the 
King by his charter has given it".^ 

Another duty for the commissioners to perform was the decision as 
to the line between Plymouth and Rhode Island. Shortly before their 
arrival, in June, 1664, Plymouth had complained to Rhode Island of 
intrusions upon her territory, and in October following the latter 
colony answered by proposing the appointment of a committee who 
should determine as to the boundaries. All negotiations, however, 
ceased upon the return of the royal commission from New York. 
Rhode Island appointed three men to appear before that body at See- 
konck on February 27, 1665, when the subject Avas to come up for 
decision. But the commissioners could come to no definite settlement 
since, as they stated in their report, Rhode Island claimed a strip three 
miles in breadth bordering upon Narragansett bay, which Plymouth 
could not yield without great prejudice to her interests. Accordingly 
they established the "water" as the natural bounds between the two 
colonies until the King's pleasure should be further known. ^ Unfor- 
tunately the Rhode Island charter had not settled the boundary with 
unmistakable clearness. The phrase "extending three miles to the 

^R. I. H. S. Coll. iii, 179-182. The purchasers were also ordered to quit 
their habitations by the following September, which order, however, was later 
remanded. 

Udem, p. 262. 

•The early negotiations are in R. I. C. R. ii, 74, 90, the report of the com- 
missioners in ii, 128, and the letter to Clarendon in ii, 164. 



From the Charter of 1663 to King Philip's War. Ill 

east and northeast of the most eastern and northeastern parts of Nar- 
ragansett Bay" was one that would take considerable arbitration to 
be satisfactorily determined. The Rhode Island claimants certainly 
had strong arguments, in alluding to the proximity of the strip in 
question and its fitness to belong to their jurisdiction, to support their 
request that the charter should be interpreted most favorably to them. 
In their letter to Lord Clarendon, in September, 1666, giving seven 
reasons why the eastern line should be settled ' ' according to the mean- 
ing and letter of the charter", they state that the land opposite the 
whole length of the Island of Rhode Island had never been improved 
by Plymouth, that it could not be fortified by Plymouth on account of 
its remoteness, and that the inhabitants already there had formerly 
lived and were still desirous of living under Rhode Island jurisdiction. 
However strong were the arguments brought forward, the decision 
remained unrendered for many years. Occasionally a clash as to 
jurisdiction would cause an exchange of letters, but it was not until 
nearly a century had passed that the line was finally determined upon 
by royal order. 

Yet a third Rhode Island controversy was to be presented before the 
commissioners during their stay. Gorton and his companions, after 
having in vain sought reparation for the losses inflicted by the Massa- 
chusetts men twenty years before, addressed a ''humble petition" to 
the commission at the time of their arrival in Rhode Island. In this 
they briefly summed up the many wrongs they had suffered during 
their capture and imprisonment, and made especial mention of the 
damage inflicted by the petty sachems who lived at Warwick under 
color of Massachusetts authority.^ The commissioners soon paid at- 
tention to their petition by ordering, on April 7, 1665, that Pumham 
and his Indians should remove from Warwick Neck within a year.^ 
But to obtain any redress from Massachusetts, opposed in every way 
to the commission and dreading the least interference with their self- 

^Mass. Rec. iv, pt. 2, 253. Their letters to Mass. and to the United Colonies, 
setting forth their claims and giving notice of their intention to appeal to the 
King, are in R. I. H. S. Coll. ii, 217, 224, 

=The town of Warwick was to pay Pumham twenty pounds for his 
removal. Sir Robert Carr, on his return to Rhode Island in December, 1665, 
found that the Indians had not yet removed, and only by doubling the bribe 
could he oust them. John Eliot, instigated doubtless by Massachusetts author- 
ities, wrote an ill-timed letter of intercession in Pumham's behalf, which, 
together with other transactions, led Carr to assert that the Bay magistrates 
were "unwilling to let the people in these southern parts rest under his Majes- 
ties government". Roger Williams also, who was misinformed as to the 
matter, wrote urging pacification. (All this correspondence is in R. I. C. R. 
ii, 132-138.) 



112 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

assumed domination over New England, was quite another matter. 
The request for an answer upon the subject from the General Court 
brought forth a wordy and abusive reply that scarcely gave promise 
of any reparation. Cartwright, discouraged with the general opposi- 
tion against the commission, wrote to Gorton : ' ' These gentlemen of 
Boston would make us believe that they verily think that the King 
has given them so much power in their charter to do unjustly, that he 
reserved none for himself, to call them to an account for doing so. In 
short, they refuse to let us hear complaints against them, so that, at 
present, we can do nothing in your behalf. But I hope shortly to go 
for England, where, if God bless me thither, I shall truly present 
your sufferings and your loyalty".^ 

The final duty of the commissioners was to submit to the colony a 
set of five proposals similar to those which had been offered to Ply- 
mouth and Connecticut, and which with certain reservations regarding 
the religious clause had been accepted. These proposals, which were 
acted upon by the General Assembly in May, 1665, were as follows : 

''1. That all householders inhabiting this Colony take the oath of 
allegiance, and the administration of justice be in his Majesty's name. 

"2. That all men of competent estates and of civil conversation, 
who acknowledge and are obedient to the civil magistrate, though of 
differing judgments, may be admitted to be freemen, and have liberty 
to choose aiid to be chosen officers both civil and [military]. 

"3. Thatallmen and women of orthodox opinion, competent knowl- 
edge and civil [lives], who acknowledge and are obedient to the civil 
magistrate, and are not scandalous, may be admitted to the sacrament 
of the Lord 's Supper, and their children to baptism, if they desire it ; 
either by admitting them into the congregations already gathered, or 
permitting them to gather themselves into such congregations where 
they may enjoy the benefits of the sacraments, and that difference in 
opinion may not break the bands of peace and charity. 

"4. That all laws and expressions in laws derogatory to his Maj- 
esty, if any such have been made in these late troublesome times, may 
be repealed, altered, and taken off. 

''5. That this Colony be put in such a posture of defense, that if 
there should be any invasion upon this Island or elsewhere in this 
Colony (which God forbid), you [may in] some measure be in readi- 
ness to defend yourselves; or if need be, to relieve your [neighbors] 
according to the power given you by the King in your Charter, and to 
us in this commission and instruction". 

Upon these proposals, the assembly ''in a deep sense of his Majesty's 
most royal and wonderful grace and favor more particularly expressed 
^R. I. H. S. Coll. ii, 246; Mass. Rec. iv, pt. 2, 274. 



From the Charter op 1663 to King Philip's War. 113 

ill his gracious Charter", took most favorable action. To the first they 
assented, only substituting in place of the "oath", an "engagement" 
of similar purport and equal binding force. With the second and 
third proposals, which provided for complete religious toleration, the 
assembly most heartily concurred, declaring that "as it hath been a 
principle held forth and maintained in the colony from the very be- 
ginning thereof, so it is much on their hearts to preserve the same 
liberty to all persons within this colony forever ' '. To the fourth and 
fifth proposals, the assembly gave their cheerful consent, passing in 
accordance with the last, a complete militia law which required fre- 
quent trainings, pay for service, individual ownership of ammunition, 
and maintenance of town magazines.^ 

The work of the commissioners in Rhode Island was completed. In 
no colony had their proposals been so willingly accepted. In no col- 
ony were they themselves so heartily welcomed. Their requests and 
demands were in perfect unison with those principles which Rhode 
Island had maintained from the beginning— liberty of conscience, op- 
position to a New England oligarchy controlled by Massachusetts, and 
allegiance to the mother country to which Rhode Island owed so much. 
With such impartial and i^owerful friends, it is needless to say that 
Rhode Island's "demonstrations of loyalty and obedience", to which 
the commissioners especially referred to in their report, did not go 
unnoticed among those who administered the affairs of the colonies. 

Scarcely had the commissioners departed from Rhode Island, when 
there arose in Providence one of the most bitter local quarrels that the 
colony had ever witnessed. Although a study of it belongs to local, 
rather than to colony history, yet a brief allusion to the dispute is 
helpful in order to show the general ineft'ectiveness of both town and 
colony government. Almost from its very foundation. Providence 
had been disturbed with contention over the vaguely worded bound- 
aries of Roger Williams's original deed. The great body of proprie- 
tors, led by AVilliam Harris, asserted that the clause ' ' up the stream of 
Patuckett and Patuxet without limits we might have for our use of 
cattle" in the "memorandum", gave to them, not the mere right of 
pasturage, but a fee simple in all the territory as far west as twenty 
miles— to what was later the Connecticut line. Through Williams's 
deed to them of the "Pawtuxet lands" in 1638, they claimed that all 
this territory was vested in them,andby means of liberal gratuities, ob- 
tained from the degenerate heirs of Canonicus and Miantonomo "con- 
firmation deeds" of both lands and rights of pasturage as far west as 
'i?. /. C. 11. ii, 110-118. 



114 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

twenty miles from Fox's hill. Williams, on the other hand, solemnly 
asserted that ' ' the great Sachems never gave me, nor did I give to any, 
a foot beyond those known stated bounds fixed us in our grand original 
deed, to wit, Pawtuckqut, Notaquonckanit, Mauhapog, and Pawtuxet, 
which at the furthest the Sachems would never suffer to extend beyond 
Paupauqunnuppog, far short of W. Harris's being at Pauchasit, 
which was ever accounted by the Indians a violation".^ He always 
spoke bitterly and invectively of this "rawming for up streams with- 
out limits" and said that such a boundary was "a terrible Beast, not 
only tearing our peace and neighborhood in pieces, but spits fire and 
spreads fire and sets the towns on fire, and the whole colony also, unless 
the merciful Lord please most wonderfully to quench it".- 

This variance, engendering many minor disputes, had been the cause 
of much disturbance at town meetings for many years, but it remained 
for the lull succeeding the departure of the royal commissioners from 
Rhode Island for it to break out again with renewed virulence and 
force. On June 3, 1667, at the Providence town meeting for election 
of officers, a wordy controversy arose as to the qualification of voters. 
The meeting split into two factions, headed by Arthur Fenner and 
William Harris, and chose two respective sets of deputies for the 
general assembly. The Fenner party immediately addressed a vitu- 
perative document, called ''The Firebrand Discovered", to the other 
towns, in which they gave their side of the story and incidentally 
visited much opprobrium on the said Harris.^ That gentleman then 
procured of the Governor the calling of a special session of the assem- 
bly to test his case and to bring Fenner to trial. If he hoped to better 
his cause by such action, he must have been sadly disappointed. For 
the assembly quickly accepted the deputies chosen by virtue of Fen- 
ner 's warrant, cleared Fenner himself of all charges against him, and 
discharged Harris from the office of assistant. In addition, upon the 
petition of the town of Warwick,* they fined him fifty pounds for 

^R. I. H. 8. Publ. viii, 158. 

^R. I. Hist. Tract, xiv, 35. Even if we adopt Williams's idea of the origi- 
nal boundary as correct and morally just to the Indians, we must acknowledge 
that the more liberal construction placed upon the vague wording by the 
proprietors prevented the intrusion of alien purchasers into the territory in 
question and preserved it intact to be included under the Ehode Island charter 
of 1663. 

'A copy of this document is in Copies of Warwick Records, p. 15, in the 
R. I. Hist. Soc. Library. 

^Harris had earned the enmity of Warwick both through personal disputes 
over land and through his activity in collecting the rate for paying John 
Clarke. Warwick objected to this rate, giving several rather insufficient 



From the Charter of 1663 to King Philip's War. 115 

putting them to the expense of calling an assembly at such a busy 
season of the year. 

The Fenner party had won a complete triumph, which was, however, 
to be short lived. Harris, undoubtedly through his influence with the 
Quakers, was reinstated in his office of assistant at the following May 
elections of 1668, and Fenner was dropped. Governor Brenton re-» 
fused to qualify him, but Deputy-Governor Easton, a Quaker, willing- 
ly administered the engagement.^ Harris was not yet satisfied. 
Through a letter of complaint addressed to Col. Nicolls, one of the 
royal commissioners, he induced that official to make a protest against- 
the fine previously imposed upon him, as being unprecedented in Eng- 
lish law. The general assembly immediately remanded the fine.^ 
Letters and protests now followed in rapid succession, Roger Williams 
writing vituperatively about Harris, Warwick vigorously protesting 
against the "contrary deportment of others", and Governor Brenton 
bewailing the general disorder and imploring peace. ^ At last Brenton 
could stand it no longer. In ]\Iarch, 1669, he wrote to the various 
towns, complaining of attacks upon his property and of discourage- 
ments offered to him in public office, and requested that they should 
"pitch on some other person that might be more serviceable to the 
Colony". Accordingly, at the next INIay election, Benedict Arnold 
was chosen Governor. Through all this turmoil, Harris remained in 
the office of assistant, took part in the most important meetings of the 
governor and council, and was reinstated in his old position of chief 
gatherer of the John Clarke rate of 1664. His triumph is all the more 
remarkable in view of the fact that his designs with Connecticut 
against Rhode Island ownership of Narragansett territory were 
already suspected. 

The disputes at Providence continued with unabated vigor, render- 
ing the townsmen incapable of transacting their own affairs and pre- 
venting their aid in the management of colony matters. The general 
assembly, in October, 1669, was finally forced to take action. "Sadly 
resenting the distractions amongst our ancient, loving and honored 
neighbors of the town of Providence, and finding that the cause of the 
aforesaid inconveniences ariseth from disagreement about di\nsions 

reasons (R. I. C. R. ii, 78, 142,) which drew forth from Roger Williams one of 
the finest and most powerful letters that he ever wrote. (In R. I. H. S. Publ. 
viii, 147. See also Arnold i, 325, 336, and Copies of Warwick Records, p. 10, 
13, 14, 18, in R. I. Hist. Soc. Library.) 

'i?. /. C. R. ii, 223, and Arnold i, 335. 

'Bern, ii, 234, 237. 

^Prov. Rec. xv, 117, 118, 120, 121, 124; Copies of Warivick Records, p. 8, 
19-22; and Moses Brown Papers, xviii, 117, in R. I. Hist. Soc. Library. 



116 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of lands", they appointed a committee of five men to repair to the 
town and at a meeting of all the inhabitants, to persuade them to com- 
pose their differences by arbitration. This having been done, a meet- 
ing of the freemen was to be called, in which all the town officers 
should be elected and a set of deputies chosen for the assembly.^ This 
laudable attempt at a settlement completely failed. Neither party 
would brook interference which in any way compromised their titles 
to property. The assembly, at the March session in 1670, sadly allud- 
ed to the failure of the committee, and appointed two men to ascertain 
who were the legal voters of Providence, in order that a town meeting 
should be held for election of officers and deputies to the succeeding 
assembly. Again there Avas a dispute at the May session, and we learn 
from the assembly record that 'Svhereas, there was a dift'erence about 
the choice of the second assistant for Providence, between Mr. AVilliam 
Harris and Capt. Arthur Fenner, which of them was chosen, and they 
both being not very free to accept upon so doubtful terms, therefore 
by the assembly Mr. Roger Williams is chosen assistant". 

Thus the dispute went on. The assembly took no further action 
toward officially settling the matter and Providence town meetings 
continued to be beset with land controversies, which, however, dimin- 
ished in force as the landed proprietors gradually gained the ascend- 
ency over the smaller holders. Williams's protest against the en- 
larged construction of the original grant found few to favor it, and 
after the great King Philip war came to discredit all Indian rights 
and claims, was scarcely ever revived. The proprietor continued to 
draw lots for vacant lands and dispose of it to their best advantage, 
while the few w^ho opposed such proceedings could never gain enough 
power to make their voices heard. The whole controversy as alluded 
to in these pages merely shows the general disregard of restraint by 
law and the lack of a strong, centralized authority in Rhode Island. 
Thus the town, filled as it was with party factions and bickering 
spirits, could receive but little help from a legislative body that could 
make laws, but not enforce them. 

Several allusions have already been made to the influence attained 
by the Quakers in Rhode Island. The refuge offered them at Newport 
at their first coming into New England they had turned into a strong- 
hold, gradually gaining converts to their belief, acquiring control of 
town affairs, and making their weight felt in colony elections. For 
five years in succession— from 1672 to 1676— they had filled the gov- 
ernor's chair, and several men in the northern part of the colony, like 

^R. I. C. R. ii, 289. Dorr, Prov. Proprietors, p. 97-99. 



From the Charter of 1663 to King Philip's War. 117 

AYilliam Harris and others, had discovered the beneficent results of 
adopting their principles. Roger AVilliams, although strongly opposed 
to the tenets of the Quakers, yet in consistence Avith the distinctive 
Rhode Island principle of religious toleration, always considered them 
his political equals. He managed to hold aloof from all discussion and 
controversy as to doctrine, until the arrival of their great leader, 
George Fox, led many of the "orthodox faith" to regard with favor 
the new belief. In company with some of his disciples. Fox left Eng- 
land to visit America, and finally reached Newport in May, 1672, 
where he became the guest of Governor Easton. Here he found much 
satisfaction with his reception, Avith the progress of the faith, and with 
the meetings to which people "flocked in from all parts of the island". 
As to the results of his journey to Providence, however, he was more 
fearful. The people there, he said, "were generally above the priests 
in high notions", and since some came to his meeting on purpose to 
dispute, he was "exceeding hot, and in a great sweat. But all was 
well, the disputers were silent, and the meeting quiet". 

A few days after his return to Newport, AVilliams challenged him 
to a public discussion of fourteen specific points of Quaker doctrine, 
seven to be debated upon in Newport and seven in Providence. The 
challenge was accepted, not by Fox, who, according to Williams, "slily 
departed", but by three of his disciples. The date set was August 9th, 
and Williams, after performing the extraordinary physical feat of 
rowing down the bay within a single day, entered the lists with unim- 
paired vigor. After a three days' rather disorderly session at New- 
port, the parties adjourned to Providence, where they finished the 
debate. Since each side was apparently well satisfied that it had won 
the victory, Williams soon published a lengthy volume Avith the pun- 
ning title, "George Fox digged out of his Burrowes". Fox, with his 
disciple Burnyeat, immediately replied with a treatise having the 
equally graphic title "A New England Firebrand Quenched". Few 
of even the most assiduous antiquaries would have the courage to toil 
through the accounts of this Aveary and profitless dispute. The point 
to be especially noticed by the historical student of to-daj' is the fact 
that these hair-splitting discussions over religious doctrine were more 
momentous to the people of that period than Avere ever debates on 
political subjects. The controlling element of religion in social life, 
and hence its importance as a factor in legislation and the making of 
history, is a matter that must never for a moment be overlooked.^ 

^The authorities for this dispute and the events leading up to it may be 
found in the Journal of the life of G. Fox; Journal of the life of Wm. Ed- 




George Fox 

Digg'dout of bis 

UilU V V w->^ 

Or an Ofer of 

DISPUTAT 

On fourteen Prof of Ms made this la(l bum;ncr 1 672 (10 cah c) 
untoG.jFojf tbcn prcfti^on Raae-^Jj^rJ 
in -^Vw- ^Jaf»^^ -^ • Jf. ;/':^ ' _^^» 

fo how (C/J-oJ^^flily departing y tl^ %1?iS?2tion went or. 
^'eing maoaged thre? dayes at Nrwport on RodcJIluni^ and 

fnl/i-t^ Edwundjon oa the One part, and R.w. on the otlitr. 
In which m^rxy ^'ctAUo-nsmto^G. Fox ^, Ed. B.'i>'r-:n-£s hook 




(^y^/^^ 



WITH AN 



(y^/<L. 






P E N D I X 

Oflomc fcoiTSoff?. F. his fimplc lame Anfwcisto his Oppo- 
fucsinrhit Book, quoted anJ rcplycd to 



By 



\{' Vi.oi Providtncc in S.lc,. 



DOS r O N 
Piintcci by '?«?^ Foilfr, 167*^. 



6:-: 



TITLE PAGE OF ROGER WILLIAMS'S ANSWER TO GEORGE FOX. 
From the Original in the Library of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 



From the Charter of 1663 to King Philip's War. 119 

Affairs in the Narragansett country remained in a strangely settled 
state after the verdict of the royal commissioners had placed that terri- 
tory under the control of the Rhode Island magistrates. Connecticut 
seemed willing to allow the decision to stand unquestioned, and when 
one John Crandall, in 1667, illegally laid out some land on the west 
side of the Pawcatuck, she immediately complained of the encroach- 
ment, but never even alluded to any claim upon the east side of the 
river. Thus matters might have indefinitely remained and the bound- 
ary decided according to the wording of the Rhode Island charter had 
not that same old spirit of discontent with Rhode Island institutions 
again cropped out within her territory. Twice had Richard Smith 
and his companions beseeched Connecticut to assume jurisdiction over 
them, chiding her for not taking more active interest in their behalf. 
So again, on May 4, 1668, we find Hudson, Smith and the other inhab- 
itants of Wickf ord begging Connecticut to ' ' assume her power and to 
afford us protection ... we being not able to live either in our 
civil or ecclesiastical matters without government".^ Dissatisfied 
with the factious Rhode Island government, and especially provoked 
by the absence of a state protected church, these alien inhabitants of 
Narragansett much desired to be under the strong ecclesiastical gov- 
ernment of Connecticut. Thus importuned, that colony soon renewed 
her claim to Narragansett Bay and appointed agents to treat with 
Rhode Island. But matters were not proceeding fast enough to suit 
the AVickford men. Again, in October, 1668, they write, ''At present 
being without government we crave you will be pleased to consider our 
former petition and take us under your wing, that so we may know 
whither we have recourse for justice ; and also to appoint such as in 
your wisdom you think meet to be ministers of justice amongst us, 
which our necessity requires, for we cannot be content to live under 
an anarchy".^ Connecticut, however, did not quite yet dare to take 
such summary action in view of the recent decision of the commis- 
sioners, and answered by proposing a mutual treaty. 

For over a year several fruitless attempts at arbitration were made. 

Connecticut's feeble claim was still further weakened by the firm and 

mundson; The Truth Exalted, Memoirs of J. Burnyeat; and the volumes men- 
tioned in the text above. See also Nar7\ Cluh. Puhl. vi, 357-362, and Prof. 
Diman's excellent introduction to the reprint of Williams's treatise in v. 5 of 
2i!arr. Club Puhl. In the R. I. Hist. Soc. MS 8. i, 18, 21, is a paper written 
July 25, 1672, to Thomas Olney, jr., and John Whipple, jr., entitled "George 
Fox's Instructions to his Friends", and also a lengthy and condemnatory reply 
made by Olney in a paper called "Ambition Anatomized." 

^i?. I. C. R. ii, 227. The complaint concerning Crandall is in Idem, p. 226. 

-Idem, p. 230. 



120 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

honorable position taken by Governor Winthrop, wto in a letter to his 
assembly, May 17, 1670, publicly voiced his "dissent from exerting 
power of jurisdiction over the people of the east side of the Pawcatuck 
River and Narragansett Country, until his Majesty's pleasure be fur- 
ther known ".^ But Connecticut was now firmly decided upon en- 
forcing her claim, and made ready for the approaching meeting of 
agents at New London, on June 16, 1670. The proceedings of this 
meeting, which at the suggestion of Rhode Islanders, were conducted 
entirely in writing, occupied three days and included seventeen letters 
and replies. Connecticut claimed the Narragansett country since her 
prior charter of 1662 granted territory as far east as the Narragansett 
River or Bay. Rhode Island replied that the King, in her charter of 
1663, had expressly determined that the Pawcatuck River should be 
the westerly bounds of Rhode Island, and had especially vetoed the 
clause in the Connecticut charter by referring to the Winthrop- Clarke 
agreement. The whole argument for the two days was given over to 
a discussion of the exact meaning of the term "Narragansett River", 
and since neither colony would yield an inch and Connecticut would 
not recognize the decision of the royal commissioners, it was but nat- 
ural that the results of the conference should be absolutely fruitless.^ 
The Connecticut authorities then publicly proclaimed their author- 
ity at Wickford and Westerly, meeting with little opposition. The 
Rhode Island assembly immediately met in special session and took 
measures to defend their colony against the invasions of Connecticut. 
The issue was now fairly joined. The display of arms, the arrest of 
Westerly officers, and the threats of violence, drew forth from Gover- 
nor Arnold a long and dignified letter to Governor Winthrop, in which 
he urged moderation and requested that Connecticut should forbear 
jurisdiction east of the Pawcatuck until the whole matter should be 
settled by the King. Such high-handed action, indeed, was frowned 
upon by many high in Connecticut authority. Winthrop had already 
dissented, and now, on August 3, 1670, Lieutenant-Governor John 
Mason wrote to the agents, counselling an ' ' agreement in some rational 
way", and questioning whether the territory in dispute was worth the 
expense of trying to acquire it.^ 

^R. I. C. R. ii, p. 311. 

^The details of the conference, together with much previous and subsequent 
correspondence, are in R. I. C. R. ii, 309-328. 

'His letter (in R. I. C. R. ii, 348) was written as a result of a letter from 
Roger Williams (in Narr. Club Publ. vi, 333, 1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. i, 275, 
and elsewhere). Williams told Mason that the cause of the trouble was, first, 
"a depraved appetite after great portions of land in this wilderness", and, 
second, "an unneigliborly and unchristian intrusion upon us, as being the 
weaker, contrary to your laws, as well as ours." 



From the Charter of 1663 to King Philip's War. 121 

The whole affair now settled down to a stubborn struggle. Every 
fresh act of violence would call forth a complaint and reply, and then 
each colony would appoint a new commission of arbiters, whose work 
was sure to be in vain. In one of her letters, Rhode Island said, ''to 
be plain and clear, in few words, we must tell you that we have no 
power to alter, change, or give away any part of the bounds prescribed 
and settled by his Majesty in his gracious letters Patents". Connecti- 
cut quickly replied, "We must needs say, if in your former you had 
dealt as plainly, we should never have given ourselves the labor and 
trouble we have had on that account".^ With such an unyielding 
spirit shown on both sides, it is no wonder that arbitration was futile. 

Connecticut had now a powerful ally in Rhode Island in the person 
of AA^illiam Harris. In a letter to the general assembly, which seems 
to have come to their notice in February, 1672, he strongly opposed the 
sending of an agent to England, and then proceeded to give copious 
reasons why Rhode Island's claim to the Narragansett country should 
not be pressed. His long arguments in favor of Connecticut so 
angered the Rhode Island authorities who were striving to keep the 
lands as bounded by the terms of their charter intact, that they had 
Harris haled before the Court of Justices at Newport, where they 
committed him to prison without bail, upon the charge of speaking 
and writing against the charter. But upon the advent of the Quakers 
to supremacy as a political party, in April, 1672, Harris was released 
and later restored to office.- His arguments, fortified with much show 

^i?. I. C. R. ii, 422, 432, under dates of Nov. 4, 1671, and Jan. 29, 1672. 

'Harris's document is filed in the Ct. Rec. under the apparently wrong date 
of Oct. 1666. (See copy in Extracts from Ct. MSS. i, 49-67, in R. I. H. S. 
Library.) An original draft in Harris's handwriting, in the R. I. H. S. MSS. 
i. 17, is followed by a copy of the order for his arrest dated February 24, 1671- 
72, and is endorsed "This the copy of that for which I was imprisoned and 
tried for my life". Harris's action in the matter is open to much doubt and 
controversy. There were many in Rhode Island, to be sure, who favored his 
views, as may be shown from the course of events. On Sept. 25, 1671, the 
assembly, strongly pro-Rhode Island, appointed John Clarke to go to England 
on the Narragansett business and levied a rate of £200 for his expenses. Then 
came Harris's protest, and his consequent arrest and imprisonment for trea- 
son, Feb. 24, 1672. In April, the assembly met, refused to receive a paper 
from Harris, renewed the tax for Clarke, and passed a high-handed act, order- 
ing that all who opposed any rate laid by the assembly should be bound over 
to the Court of Trials for "high contempt and sedition". {R. I. C. R. ii, 411, 
429, 435, 439.) The following month, there came a great political upheaval. 
Easton was chosen governor in place of Arnold, Smith and Brinley were 
elected assistants from Narragansett, and scarcely a member of the former 
assembly was retained. It was an alliance of the moderate Quaker element 
with the pro-Connecticut element in Narragansett. They immediately pro- 
ceeded to undo the work of their predecessors, repealing the sedition act and 
the rate for Clarke, and writing a conciliatory letter to Connecticut. {Idem, 
p. 450-461.) The spirited protests, however, sent in by the people of Warwick 



122 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of legal reasoning, brought about a more conciliatory attitude toward 
Connecticut, prevented the immediate sending of an agent to London, 
and undoubtedly did much to hinder the settlement of the Narragan- 
sett controversy in Rhode Island's favor. The whole dispute, how- 
ever, was temporarily obscured by the preparations for King Philip's 
War, after which, under somewhat changed conditions, it again broke 
forth, to annoy both colonies for a long series of years. 



CHAPTER IX. 
FROM KING PHILIP'S WAR TO THE COMING OF ANDROS, 1675-1686. 

Rhode Island was about to enter upon a period that was to affect 
her prosperity and retard her economic growth more than any other 
series of events in her previous history. The fear of an Indian upris- 
ing, so long dreaded, yet scarcely expected by the colonists, was soon 
to be realized. As the English increased in numbers and hewed their 
way further and further into the forests, establishing boundaries for 
large tracts of land, and introducing a new civilization, the Indians 
saw their tribal lands rapidly disappearing, their favorite fishing- 
places invaded by the saw-mills and grist-mills of the settlers, and their 
barbarian means of subsistence supplanted by a mode of living that 
they would neither understand nor adopt. Under such social condi- 
tions a collision was inevitable. Many disputes and altercations arose, 

and by others (see Copies of Warwick Rec. p. 25-26 in R. I. H. S. Library) 
prevented this reaction from going too far. Subsequent assemblies, more 
patriotic in their make-up, showed no intention of acceding to the intrusion 
of Connecticut. The whole series of events would seem to show that Harris, 
whatever may have been his motives, was considered a traitor only by the 
party that opposed him. Williams's recorded opinion, though perhaps prej- 
udiced, is of much importance in this connection. Harris, he says, "not find- 
ing that pretence, nor the people called Baptists (in whom he confided) serv- 
ing his ends, he flies to Connecticut Colony (then and still in great contest 
with us) in hopes to attain his gaping about land from them, if they prevail 
over us. To this end he in public speech and writing applauds Connecticut's 
Charter, and damns ours, and his royal Majesty's favor also for granting us 
favor (as to our consciences) which he largely endeavors by writing to prove 
the King's Majesty by laws could not do. Myself (being in place) by speech 
and writing opposed him, and Mr. B. Arnold, then Governor, and Mr. Jo. 
Clark, Deputy-Governor, Captain Cranston, and all the Magistrates. He was 
committed for speaking and writing against his Majesty's honor, prerogative, 
and authority. He lay some time in prison until the General Assembly, where 
the Quaker (by his wicked, ungodly, and disloyal plots) prevailing, he by 
their means gets loose". (G. Fox digged out of his Burrowes, p. 206-7.) 



From King Philip's War to the Coming of Andros. 123 

which were generally settled by imposing some new restraint upon the 
Indians. But this state of affairs could not continue long. The sav- 
age, haughty, incapable of reasoning, repelling this assumed author- 
ity over him, bided his time and waited for revenge. It needed only 
a leader who could unite the tribes to cause this smoldering hate to 
burst forth into a flame that might endanger the very existence of 
New England. 

The outbreak of King Philip's Avar cannot be ascribed to any one 
cause. It arose from a variety of causes and from a succession of 
events that can be but briefly alluded to in this chapter. Upon the 
death of IVIassasoit the old sachem of the Wampanoags, his elder son, 
Wamsutta or Alexander, became chief of the tribe. In 1662 the 
Governor of Plymouth, suspecting that Alexander was plotting rebel- 
lion, ordered that he be seized and brought to Plymouth. Through a 
display of armed force, this was done : but on the way to their desti- 
nation, he suddenly became sick and died. The mysterious manner of 
his death when in English hands had much effect upon his brother 
Philip, who succeeded him as sachem, and was never forgotten. For 
a few years there was a period of comparative quiet, a suspected out- 
break being punished by a partial disarming of the Indians. At 
length, in September, 1671, various reports as to Philip's behavior 
caused him to be summoned to Plymouth, where he acknowledged his 
complete subjection and promised to pay a fine of £100 and a yearly 
tribute, to submit to the judgment of Plymouth Courts, and neither 
to make war nor sell land wdthout the Governor's approbation. This 
forced treaty gave a sense of security to the English, that was, how- 
ever, but fancied and temporary. It served to lower the savage in the 
white man's estimation, and inspired in the Indian's breast a hatred 
that could only be appeased by revenge. The traditionary reply of 
Philip to a friendly interposition for peace shows better than any other 
quotation the wrongs with which the Indians considered themselves 
oppressed: "By various means they [the English] got possession of 
a great part of his [Massasoit's] territory. But he still remained 
their friend till he died. My elder brother became sachem. They 
pretended to suspect him of evil designs against them. He was seized 
and confined, thereby thrown into sickness and died. Soon after I 
became sachem, they disarmed all my people. They tried my people 
by their own laws; assessed damages against them, which they could 
not pay. Their land was taken. At length a line of division was 
agreed upon between the English and my people, and I myself was to 
be answerable. Sometimes the cattle of the English would come into 



124 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the cornfields of my people, as they did not make fences like the Eng- 
lish. I must then be seized and confined, till I sold another tract of 
my country for satisfaction of all damages and costs. Thus, tract 
after tract is gone. But a small part of the dominions of my ancestors 
remains. I am determined not to live till I have no country".^ 

During the period of calm that followed the treaty of 1671, Philip 
and his chiefs laid their plans for a general destruction of the English. 
In June, 1675, through information from certain friendly Indians, 
the colonists learned of the existence of a deep laid plot against them, 
and immediately took action toward breaking up the design. They 
sent an embassy to the Narragansetts, who were greatly feared on 
account of their fighting ability and supposed strength, to demand 
that that nation should break off all negotiations with Philip and give 
whatever intelligence they could of the plot. The commissionei's were 
instructed to visit Roger Williams at Providence to obtain his assist- 
ance and advice. Within half an hour, he was with them on his way 
to Narragansett, where the Indians asserted their entire innocence and 
gave lavish assurances of their fidelity and good-will. But race 
hatred was too far inculcated in their hearts to allow these degenerate 
sons of Canonicus to remain any longer as allies. Two days later, 
Williams wrote to Governor Winthrop of his suspicion that "all the 
fine words from the Indian sachems to us were but words of policy, 
falsehood and treachery ; especially since now the English testify, that 
for divers weeks, if not months, canoes passed to and again, day and 
night, between Philip and the Narragansetts, and the Narragansett 
Indians have committed many robberies on the English houses".^ 
Intervention, as he suspected, was hopeless. When the Narragansetts 
decided to take up arms with Philip, it meant much to Rhode Island, 
which otherwise would scarcely have been invaded. Williams realized 
this and did all that he could to prevent hostilities. "JNIy old bones 
and eyes," he says, "are weary with travel and writing to the Gover- 
nors of Massachusetts and Rhode Island". But the Narragansett 
sachem, although reverencing the friend of his father, told him that 
the youth of the tribe, who were eager for war, could not be controlled. 
In the midst of these fruitless negotiations, the warning note of hos- 
tilities had sounded from Swansea, where on June 24, 1675, a number 
of the inhabitants were massacred. A struggle was begun, in which 
the English, through underestimating the strength and ability of their 

^R. I. H. 8. Coll. vii, 91. The grievances of the Indians are still further 
detailed in the Narrative of John Easton, published from the MS. in 1858. 
'Narr. Club Pub. vi, 366, 370. 



From King Philip's War to the Coming of Andros. 125 

savage opponents, were to suffer losses of a most serious and lasting 
nature. 

While the Plymouth authorities, accustomed to despise their oppo- 
nents, desired to force the Indians into subjection, the Rhode Island 
attitude was one that strongly favored arbitration — real arbitration — 
and not the compulsory signing of treaties in Avhich the Indians were 
made to acknowledge the most abject servitude. The government, 
furthermore, was in the hands of the Quakers, whose religious doc- 
trines inclined them toward a peaceful solution of all matters. Short- 
ly before the outbreak of hostilities, a delegation of Newport men held 
a conference with Philip, in which they tried to persuade him to lay 
aside his warlike intentions. They agreed that ' ' all complaints might 
be righted without war", and suggested an effective arbitration be- 
tween an Indian sachem and Governor of New York. The Indians, 
says the narrator of this conference, "owned that fighting was the 
worst way . . seemed to like the idea and said we spoke honestly". 
It appears probable that if this course had been properly proposed 
to them by the people of Plymouth, that the war might have been 
prevented ; but no steps toward it appear to have been taken, and the 
subject began and ended in this conference.^ 

With her government in the hands of Quakers, and with the other 
colonies indifferent as to her welfare, Rhode Island was in fair way to 
suffer exceedingly in case the war should be waged in her territory. 
Since the attack at Swansea, the Indians had visited their fury upon 
the towns in Massachusetts and Plymouth. But the general retreat 
to Narragansett toward the close of 1675, and the consequent decision 
of the United Colonies to attack them in winter quarters caused the 
fighting to be transferred to Rhode Island soil. The Narragansetts 
were now openly allied with Philip, and this attack upon them in their 
stronghold was made in order to prevent the joining of forces in the 
spring. But the decision, strange to say, was made without even con- 
sulting Rhode Island, although it was expressly ordered in her charter 
that the other colonies should not molest the native Indians "without 
the knowledge and consent of the Governor and Company of our col- 
ony of Rhode Island". As Arnold justly says, it "was a direct viola- 

^The author of this narration was John Easton, a Newport Quaker, and 
later a governor of R. I. The learned antiquarian, S. G. Drake, says that "he 
was, from his locality, and social and political standing, in the way of being 
better informed than all or any of those who have left narratives or relations 
of the circumstances. His relation cannot fail always to excite a deep inter- 
est, especially as it was evidently dictated by simplicity and honesty". (See 
Drake, Old Indian Chronicle, p. 112-113; also Easton's Narrative, p. 8.) 



136 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

tion of the royal order, an unscrupulous disregard of the rights, and 
a wanton act of indifference to the welfare of a sister colony, which no 
exigency of State could excuse".^ Although her soil, through the 
acts of another colony, was thus exposed to the horrors of Indian war- 
fare, Rhode Island sent many volunteers to join the army, which, under 
the command of Governor Winslow, marched toward Narragansett 
over a thousand strong. The details of the terrible battle that took 
place on December 19, 1675, in the heart of the Narragansett Country, 
and which is known to history as the "Swamp Fight", cannot be 
entered into at the present place.^ This bloody conflict, in which the 
victorious English suffered almost as great a loss as the Indians, weak- 
ened the power of the Narragansetts forever, but did not by any 
means put an end to the war. The guerilla method of Indian warfare 
made it possible for depredations and massacres still to continue, while 
the fugitive Narragansetts now felt no hesitation in treating Rhode 
Islanders as their avowed enemies. The month of March, 1676, was a 
sad one for the mainland towns of Rhode Island. Wickford, War- 
wick, Pawtuxet and Providence were attacked in rapid succession, and 
the crops destroyed, the cattle killed, the houses burned and the few 
remaining inhabitants driven for their lives. ^ 

Rhode Island had indeed suffered most fearfully from the effects 
of a war which the decision of other colonies had visited upon her, but 
the immediate disaster that happened to her mainland towns was due 
chiefly to causes that need especial explanation. At the breaking out 
of the war, the political control of Rhode Island was in the hands of 
the Newport Quakers, with the aged William Coddington as Governor. 
Secure in their isolation and the strength of their garrisons, and cher- 
ishing no especial aft'ection for the straggling little towns on the main, 
to which they had formerly been united against their will, these 
Islanders had not the least intention of spending their energy in aid of 

'Arnold, i, 402. 

-The details of this battle and of other conflicts on Rhode Island soil are 
more thoroughly entered into in the chapter on Wars and the Militia. See 
also G. M. Bodge, The Narragansett Fort Fight, 1886. 

^For the burning of the Smith house at Wickford, see Drake's Indian 
Chronicle, p. 216, 244. For the burning of Warwick, on March 17, see Drake, 
217, 244; Hubbard, 66, add. p. 3; Mather 24; and Fuller's Warwick. 76. For 
the attack on Pawtuxet, Jan. 27, see Drake, 196, 212, 244, 302; and Hubbard, 
60. For the burning of Providence on March 29, see Drake, 223, 244, 254; 
Hubbard, 67, add. p. 4; Mather 26; Backus, i, 424; Nile's History in 3 Mass. 
Hist. Soc. Coll. vi, 183; and Stone's "Burning of Prov." in Prov. Jour. Apr. 10, 
1876. The fight of July 2, 1676, near Wolf's Hill in Smithfleld, and not in a 
cedar swamp in Warwick, as Arnold says, is alluded to in a letter from Major 
Talcott. {Ct. Rec. ii, 459. See also Drake's edition of Mather, p. 39.) 



From King Philip's War to the Coming of Andros. 127 

their fellow settlers. To a petition of October, 1675, that the colony 
shonld be put in a suitable posture of defense for ' ' the safety and satis- 
faction of all", the assembly, composed almost entirely of Island men, 
voted that each town council should provide for its own military 
affairs. In March, 1676, Providence and Warwick directly petitioned 
that colony garrisons should be established in their towns. The as- 
sembly appointed a committee which soon decided that the colony was 
not sufficiently able to maintain garrisons in the out-plantations and 
deemed it best that the inhabitants of those towns should give up the 
contest and repair to the Island for safety.^ Under such circum- 
stances a general flight to the Island was the only alternative, although 
a few of the bravest of each town remained behind, determined not to 
resign their homes without a struggle. A few days later the Indians 
fell upon the defenseless towns, and they were compelled to submit to 
a destruction of houses and property, which the toil of two generations 
could not replace. There is every reason to believe that had garrisons 
been placed at the colony expense in these two towns, they might both 
have been saved from their terrible fate. Nor do the excuses of inabil- 
ity and inadvisability which Newport was later forced to make show 
any reason why the Island, with five times the population of Provi- 
dence and more than secure in her own position, could not have done 
this. Whatever may have been their motive in deserting the main- 
land towns — whether it was political enmity, Quaker antipathy against 
war in general, or a selfish desire to preserve only their own homes— 
such action is worthy of decided condemnation and did much to foster 
an alienation between the mainland and the Island which hindered a 
united colony growth for many years. ^ 

^R. I. C. R. ii, 531, 533. Richard Smith says that the Narragansett propri- 
etors also sent in a petition to the government of Rhode Island for "protection 
and defense, which was absolutely denied them, the then Governor of Rhode 
Island being a Quaker, and thought it perhaps not lawful either to give com- 
mission or take up arms; so that their towns, goods, corn, cattle were by the 
savage natives burned and totally destroyed". (R. I. C. R. iii, 51.) 

-The May election of 1676, which resulted in the choice of Walter Clarke, 
as Governor, did not promise much more hope for the mainland. Now that 
the chief danger was over and the devastation already wrought, a small colony 
garrison was ordered for the protection of Providence, which, however, was 
not sustained. Clarke's weak letter of apology for not carrying out this order 
concludes with the consoling information that "the Lord's hand is against 
New England, and no weapon formed will or shall prosper till the work be 
finished". (Prov. Rec. xv, 160.) To the credit of some of Newport, be it said 
that Edmundson in his Journal (p. 81) records that "the people that were 
not Friends were outrageous to fight, but the Governor being a Friend (one 
Walter Clarke) could not give commissions to kill and destroy men". In the 
May election of 1677, the war party finally triumphed, re-established the gar- 
rison at Providence, and thoroughly revised the militia law. 



128 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

The war, which in the meanwhile had been Avaged with renewed 
vigor throughout New England, was rapidly drawing to a close. By 
the summer of 1676, defeat, sickness and desertion had reduced the 
Indian forces to a few hundred braves who still remained true to their 
chief. After several attempts on Philip's life, he was finally driven 
into a swamp near Mount Hope, where he was shot through the heart 
by a treacherous Indian. The leader dead, the war was soon ended. 
The Indians, their power utterly broken, were henceforth doomed to 
slavery or dependence upon the whites, and eventually to extinction. 
The English had lost hundreds of their best soldiers, incurred a heavy 
debt, and suffered losses to their cattle, crops, and homes from which 
it would take many years to recover.^ Ehode Island, although she 
had been opposed to the war, had suffered in proportion to her popu- 
lation probably more severely than any other colony. The charred 
ruins of once promising villages, lands despoiled of all that was valu- 
able, homes bereaved by death and desolation remained as mute wit- 
nesses of her own helplessness and the fury of the enemy,^ 

After the war, the Connecticut authorities, seeking some new pre- 
text for control over the Narragansett lands, claimed them by right of 
conquest. They asserted that Rhode Island, during the war, rendered 
no assistance to the other colonies or to her mainland towns, and even 
accused her of sheltering the enemy. Although Rhode Island's vir- 
tual desertion of the mainland towns is only too true, that she refused 
to render aid to her distressed neighbors is disproved by contempora- 
neous accounts.' The fact that she was opposed to the war and be- 

'The contemporaneous tracts on King Philip's War are listed in Winsor Narr. 
and Grit. Hint iii, 860. See also Palfrey iii, 132-289, Bodge Soldiers in King 
Philip's War. and Mem. Hist, of Boston i, 827. For an account of R I. in the 
war, see the bibliography at the close of the last volume of this work. 

"A contemporaneous account presents the following table of losses so far 
as regards Rhode Island: "In Narragansett, not one house left standing. 
At Warwick, but one. At Providence, not above three. At Pawtuxet, none 
left". (Drake's Indian Chronicle, p. 244.) The Islanders, furthermore, had 
expended about £800 for war purposes. {Prov. Rec. xv, 160. The Newpoi't 
Town Records soon after the war often mention the payment of individual 
claims for Island defence.) The tax laid in November, 1678, clearly shows 
the relative degree in which the towns had suffered. Newport was assessed 
£136, Portsmouth £68, New Shoreham and Jamestown each £29, Providence 
£10, Warwick and Kingston each £8, East Greenwich and Westerly each £2. 
(R. I. C. R. iii, 21, 112.) 

^A few references to contemporaneous accounts will best show how Rhode 
Island was of assistance to the other colonies. In June, 1675, upon the request 
of Plymouth, Rhode Island sent out some sloops to attend Philip's movements 
by water (Easton's Narrative, p. 16, Church's History, p. 4, Narr. Club Publ. 
vi, 372,) and in the following month transported the troops from the Island 



From King Philip's AVar to the Coming of Andros. 129 

lieved the attack upon the Narragansetts to be unlawful and unjust 
would certainly justify her in not entering as a colony into the strug- 
gle. Her counsel and joint assistance, moreover, was never asked, 
and in all preparations for war her aid, welfare, and even existence 
were apparently not considered. Rhode Island asserted that since 
the war was prosecuted solely by the United Colonies, she was con- 
cerned only as necessity required for the defense of life and property, 
and that her colony, "though much neglected and disregarded, had 
afforded such assistance as could rationally be expected from so little 
a spot of land, encompassed with so many difiiculties and disadvan- 
tages".^ 

Rhode Island emerged from the war desolate and impoverished. It 
would seem as if the process of reconstructing their homes and re- 
trieving their fortunes would have prevented the settlers from renew- 
ing the costly and fruitless struggles over land. But on the contrary, 
the entire colony became embarrassed with controversies and litigation 
to a greater extent than ever. In the northern part of the colony 
Warwick was in dispute with Providence over jurisdiction, and with 
Pawtuxet over title to the lands bordering upon the Pawtuxet River, 
the proprietors of Providence and PaAvtuxet were at issue over the 
boundary line between their respective holdings, and private parties 
were constantly sueing one another for trespass and recovery of prop- 
erty. The details of these various disputes are too prolix and pro- 
over to Pocasset (Church, p. 7, 13; Hubbard's Islarrative, p. 28). It was a 
Rhode Island sloop, moreover, that rescued them from their perilous position 
after the skirmish at Fogland Ferry (Church, p. 11). Holden and Greene in 
their reply to Massachusetts, thus confirm this fact of naval assistance, "The 
colony did, at the request of the other colonies, assist them with several sloops 
well manned, when the war was begun in Plymouth colony, to the utmost they 
could do, and to the great damage of the enemy". (Arnold, i, 410, R. I. C. R. 
iii, 62.) After the sanguinary and exhaustive Swamp Fight of December, 
1675, the English wounded — one writer says to the number of 150 — were 
removed to Rhode Island, where they were hospitably and kindly cared for, 
some for many weeks (Drake, Indian Chronicle, p. 185, 211, and especially 
notes; Church, 17, and Plym. Rec. vi, 118). Rhode Island men served as 
volunteers in the war (Hubbard, 28), and at its very close two companies 
under Rhode Island captains brought in forty-two captives, and a body of 
Rhode Island men pursued Philip to his death. (Drake, 291; Church, 43, Cal- 
lender. Hist. Discourse, p. 79, R. I. C. R. iii, 44.) Constant mention is made 
by Church of the provisions and aid furnished him by the Island (Church, 11, 
12, etc.; Drake, 290), and the Newport jail was frequently used for Indian 
captives (Drake, 292). As a place of refuge, the Island was resorted to not 
only by the inhabitants throughout Rhode Island, but also by people from 
Swanzey, Dartmouth, and even from Mendon (Hubbard, 70, Drake, 133n, 
Church, 21). To use the expression of one early narrator, "Rhode Island now 
became the common Zoar, or place of refuge for the distressed". (Drake, 224.) 

'R. I. C. R. ii, 582; iii, 44. 
9-1 



130 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

tracted to be considered in this chapter on colony history.^ To give 
a complete account of them would be to write a biography of William 
Harris. This active and fearless opponent of Roger Williams spent 
the greater part of his life in trying to maintain and enlarge his prop- 
erty, and though invariably successful in obtaining verdicts in his 
favor, coidd seldom, on account of the persistence of rival claimants, 
get these decrees carried out. After his death in 1680, land disputes 
occupied a less prominent place in Providence politics, and those in 
which he was formerly concerned were finally settled, now that the 
champion was out of the fight, with considerable detriment to his 
original claims. 

In the southern part of the colony, Rhode Island had much more 
formidable opposition to confront. The lands about Mount Hope, 
which now belonged to the English by right of conquest, offered a 
prize to the colony which could present the best claim. An additional 
claimant unexpectedly came forward in the pereon of John Crowne, 
a man who had attained considerable note in England as a writer of 
plays. In January, 1679, he petitioned the King for "a small tract 
of land in New England, called Mount Hope", as a recompense for 
certain losses sustained by his family in Acadia. The council imme- 
diately sought information from the agents of Rhode Island and of 
Massachusetts who were then in London. The former asserted that 
the propriety was vested in the King, while the latter favored the 
■claim of Plymouth to the territory in question. Unable to decide 
upon such contrary cAndence, the council addressed letters of inquiry 
to the four New England colonies. Rhode Island admitted that the 
territory had been previously granted to Plymouth by the Commis- 
sioners in 1665, as having been within that colony's original patent, 
but mentioned the fact that it was also included within her own char- 
ter of 1663. Plymouth, besides advancing her rights by patent, 
sought the property as a compensation for the losses she had sustained 
in Philip's Avar. Her claim seemed the most conclusive, and on Jan- 
uary 12, 1680, the land was especially granted to Plymouth. Crowne, 
disappointed in his purpose, presented a new petition for a grant of 
Boston Neck, in Narragansett, which met the same fate as its prede- 
cessor. - 

'For detailed treatment, see Staples's 'Prmmlence, page 581-592, and Arnold, i, 
429-438. The papers of the chief actor in these controversies, William Harris, 
are in process of publication by the R. I. Historical Society. 

^For the original documents bearing upon these Mount Hope lands, see 
n. I. C. R. iii, 37-46, 64; Conn. Rec. iii, 272, 506; and Cal. State Papers Colo- 
nial, Jlill-HO. For the life of Crowne see Diet. Nat. Biog. xiii, 243. 



From King Philip's War to the Coming op Andros. 131 

It was in the renewed struggle for Narragansett country, however, 
that Rhode Island had the most concern. During the period when 
that territory was a possible battle-ground, both colonies refrained 
from asserting jurisdiction over it. But immediately upon the con- 
clusion of the war, Connecticut, setting uj) an additional claim to the 
territory by right of conquest, warned Rhode Island inhabitants from 
resettling upon their former estates. The Rhode Island assembly, in 
a letter of October 25, 1676, remonstrated against this order and said 
that because a colony was obliged by necessity to desert some of its 
plantations, it should therefore lose its Charter rights, and particular 
persons their lands and privileges, would without doubt be disap- 
proved by his INIajesty.^ They furthermore set up a written prohibi- 
tion, forbidding anyone to "exercise jurisdiction in any part of the 
Narragansett country, but by order of the authority of the Colony of 
Rhode Island". 

With each colony taking so determined an attitude, the controversy 
seemed in a way of becoming more serious than ever. Connecticut 
arrests brought forth threats of Rhode Island reprisals and each side 
began to strengthen its military arm. Connecticut's proposal in May, 
1677, of Coweset as the boundary between the two colonies was met 
by Rhode Island's offer of five thousand acres in Narragansett to be 
at Connecticut's disposal but under Rhode Island's jurisdiction.- 
Neither party being willing to sacrifice any of its assumed rights, these 
attempts at compromise were wholly in vain. Both colonies prepared 
for a protracted controversy — Connecticut, more adventurous and 
self-confident from her recent practice in arms, and prodded on by 
those of Massachusetts who hoped to make good their flimsy mortgaged 
title ; Rhode Island, w^eaker, yet twice assured in her claim by royal 
command, and realizing that to forfeit the territory in question would 
be to lose her geographical integrity. 

The Connecticut court, at its May meeting in 1677, appointed a 
committee to survey the Narragansett country with a view towards a 
general settlement, and in Octol^er following the Rhode Island assem- 
bly laid out a tract of five thousand acres to be known as the town of 
East Greenwich.^' Those of the Atherton Company who resided in 

^R. I. C. R. n, 556, 559. 

-Idem, ii, 583, 594. 

^Idem, ii, 587, 593, 595. East Greenwich was the eighth town to be incor- 
porated in the colony, Kingston having been incorporated in 1674. The new 
town was to be laid out in two parts, one of 500 acres for house lots on the 
bay, and the other of 4500 acres for farms. The whole was to be divided 



132 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Massachusetts, now sought to turn their pretended holdings in Narra- 
gansett country into ready money, and applied to Connecticut for the 
privilege to form settlements there. This request granted, they posted 
a handbill in Boston and Newport offering for sale at reasonable 
terms several tracts of land in that country. Rhode Island quickly 
warned all people against these "fallacious claims of title and govern- 
ment", asserted her own ownership of the territory, and later impris- 
oned and fined one of the signers of the advertisement.^ A still bolder 
move was made by the heirs of the Atherton Company residing in 
Narragansett. They sent a petition to the King, signed by Richard 
Smith and others, and also by William Harris, begging that Narra- 
gansett, as well as the islands in the Bay, should be given to the juris- 
diction of Connecticut. In view of these powerful attacks upon 
Rhode Island's authority, it was most fortunate that two such able 
representatives of her interests were in London at the time. Randall 
Holden and John Greene, who had originally gone abroad to defend 
Warwick in the Harris case, and who had already shoA^Ti much skill 
in diplomacy, now became the accredited agents of Rhode Island in 
England. They soon made answer to Smith's petition and also in- 
formed the King regarding the Atherton handbill, which was in direct 
defiance of former royal orders. In a document dated December 13, 
1678, the King rendered his decision. After summing up the chief 
points in the history of the dispute— the submission of the Indians to 
his Majesty in 1644, the declaration of the royal commissioners in 
1665 that the Atherton purchases were void, and the subsequent 
order that the magistrates of Rhode Island should govern in Narra- 
gansett until further notice— the order directly commanded that the 
province should be left as it was, and that all persons pretending title 
should make their appeal to the King.- Massachusetts was rebuked 
by a later order annulling the sentence of banishment passed upon 
Holden and his Warwick associates thirty-five years before. The 
intelligence of this decision was conveyed to the colonies in a royal 
letter of February 12, 1679, requiring them to send agents to England 
if they had claims to the territory in question. 

into fifty equal shares among those named in the act. Neglect to build within 
a year would result in the forfeiture of one's whole share. For references 
to the town's history, see the Bibliography at the close of this work. For 
discussion as to the origin of the name see Narr. Hist. Reg. iii, 249, 327. 

'Ct. Rec. iii, 15, 32, 257; R. I. G. R. iii, 18; Arnold, i, 447. The handbill 
is dated July 30, 1678. 

=The original documents are in R. I. C. R. iii, 50-51, 60-63. Holden and 
Greene received from R. I. a richly deserved letter of thanks upon their return 
home in July, 1679, besides the sum of £60 for their expenses. A letter of 
gratitude was also sent to the King. (Idem, 43, 47.) 



From King Philip's War to the Coming of Andros. 133 

It was opportune for Rhode Island that this royal intercession in 
her behalf came when it did. Connecticut's recent demand that the 
settlers in East Greenwich should be recalled, was answered by a letter 
in which Rhode Island justified her course. The letter deplores the 
"pressing forward of that long difference between the two colonies 
which we hoped would not again be raked up ' ', and then prophetically 
continues, "We nuist own you are of strength sufficient to compel 
submission ; but if you think his INIajesty will not relieve, maintain 
and defend his subjects in their just and lawful rights from usurpa- 
tion, forceable and violent intrusions, you may attempt anything un- 
der the pretence of .settlement".^ Upon receiving the royal confirma- 
tion of the government of Narragansett by her magistrates, Rhode 
Island immediately posted a prohibition commanding the inhabitants 
in Westerly and elsewhere in Narragansett to render obedience only 
to her authority, and warning Connecticut not to exercise any juris- 
diction in that country. The Connecticut court, at a meeting held in 
October, 1679, took action on the King's letter by appointing William 
Harris as their authorized agent to argue their claim in England. 
Although she realized that her pretensions to the heart of Narragansett 
country were temporarily, at least, defeated, and expressed her will- 
ingness to "sit silent" until the King's pleasure was made known, 
Connecticut strongly protested against Rhode Island's assertion of 
authority at Westerly. She assumed that the royal order that King's 
Province should remain in its present condition meant that Westerly 
should remain under her jurisdiction— an evidently wrong construc- 
tion in that it neglected the premise of the King's decision mentioning 
Rhode Island's authority over the province until his Majesty's pleas- 
ure was further known. Acting upon this assumption, however, she 
complained of Rhode Island's "unlawful proceedings" on the east 
side of the Pawcatuck, forbade the inhabitants there to recognize 
Rhode Island authority, and condenmed that colony's "pretences" of 
jurisdiction as "usurped and utterly unlawful". Rhode Island re- 

^Ct. Rec. iii, 266, under date of April 21, 1679. The hindrance offered to 
the Rhode Island government by some of the Narragansett settlers themselves 
is well illustrated by a letter of R. Smith to Connecticut, May 26, 1679. After 
complaining of the proceedings of Rhode Island "against those that assert 
your right", he continues, "1 long to hear what your Court concludes. Pray 
let us hear what we may trust unto; we must either be protected or comply 
with our adversaries, the latter being sore against our minds, if forced to it. 
As to what Rhode Island pretends to have favor in England, I know they lie, 
nor have they any assurance in any such thing . . . Rhode Island settles 
daily in Narragansett; if no stop be made, it will be hard to remove them". 
(Ct. Rec. iii, 269.) Prodded on by such letters as this, Connecticut could 
scarcely recede a step in her controversy with a manifestly weaker colony. 



134 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

plied by giving notice of her intention to run her western line and 
requesting the concurrence of Connecticut in the matter — "a cool 
rejoinder", says Arnold, ''to the recent fulminations from that 
quarter".^ 

Harris sailed for England as agent for Connecticut in December, 
1679, but was taken at sea by a Barbary corsair, kept as a prisoner for 
over a year in Algiers, and finally ransomed for a large sum. He 
returned to England, broken down by his hardships, and died within 
a few days after reaching London.- Connecticut, upon hearing of his 
capture and consequent loss of papers, hastened to send a letter to the 
Board of Trade giving seven reasons why they be given authority over 
Narragansett Country. The Narragansett proprietors also sent a long 
petition, asking to be separated from Rhode Island, and either annexed 
to some other colony or erected into a separate province." The Board 
of Trade soon found that the controversy was too complicated to re- 
ceive final decision in England, and recommended that commissioners 
be appointed to examine the subject. 

At length, on April 7, 1683, a royal commission was issued to Ed- 
ward Randolph, the English customs officer in IMassachusetts, Edwarc 
Cranfield, Governor of New Hampshire, William Stoughton, Josepl 
Dudley, and five other Massachusetts men, to inquire into the ' ' respec- 
tive claims and titles to the jurisdiction, government, or propriety of 
King's Province, or Narragansett Country". This commission, from 
the very character of its composition, could scarcely be expected to 
render a fair decision. Randolph was one of the most unscrupulous 
and incapable officers ever sent over to New England, and Cranfield 
was a mere political freebooter.* The preponderance of Massachu- 
setts representatives, furthermore, immediately suggested the partiality j 
that was to be shown to the Atherton Company. By August, the com- 
mission was ready for business. They wrote to Rhode Island, giving 
notice of their intention to meet at Richard Smith's house on August 

'Connecticut's action is in Ct. Rec. iii, 38, 40, 278. See also R. I. C. R. iii, 
73, and Arnold, i, 457. 

-The Harris Captivity Letters, a remarkably interesting series of docu- 
ments, are in process of publication by the R. I. Historical Society. 

''Connecticut's letter, dated July 15, 1680, is in Ct. Rec. iii, 302; and the 
Narragansett petition, received Oct. 11, 1680, is mentioned in Arnold, i, 463. 
For the reply of R. I. to this latter document, and for previous letters in 
regard to the "first settler" of Narragansett, see R. I. C. R. iii, 56-60, Arnold, i, 
463, and Narr. Reg. ii, 27. 

'For English estimates of these officials, see Doyle's Puritan Colonies, ii, 
196, 226. 



From King Philip's War to the Coming of Andros. 135 

22, and requiring that that colony should produce all necessary docu- 
ments, and desiring that printed briefs should be publicly set up. 
This was the first Avarning that Rhode Island had regarding the ap- 
pointment of the commission and she was in considerable uncertainty 
as to how to act. The Governor and Council, after a serious debate, 
decided that the printed briefs should not be published, because "the 
said sunuiions were not granted in his Majesty's name; because they 
have not shown any commission to this government from his Majesty 
for their so acting; and because his INlajesty hath not given any infor- 
mation thereof to us by any of his royal letters". The assembly 
approved of this action, "the said printed briefs being not only date- 
less, but also placeless". They also wrote a letter to Cranfield asking 
that before anything further was done, the royal order should be 
shown to the assembly, "that we may be informed what his Majesty's 
will and pleasure is concerning us therein". 

The Rhode Island authorities evidently perceived that nothing could 
be hoped for from such a connnission, and decided to stand suit in the 
matter on the plea of illegality. It might have been more politic, and 
surely more courteous, to have adopted a less defiant course, but they 
hoped to head oft' any final judgment upon the commissioners' report 
when the matter came up in England. That a permanent decision 
would be made entirely upon the testimony of one side they realized 
was hardly probable. 

The commission met at Smith's house on the appointed date. When 
Cranfield was shown the letter from Rhode Island, he said that he did 
not recognize that colony's authority in King's Province, and refused 
to send a reply. The assembly, which was now met at Captain Fones 's 
house near by, immediately issued a prohibition, by virtue of his Maj- 
esty's trust to them, forbidding the holding of the court unless royal 
authority was shown. The commission continued with their proceed- 
ings, however, and heard the testimony of the Connecticut agents, of 
the Atherton representatives, and of some Indians who were brought 
before them. After a two days' session, they adjourned to Boston, 
where they looked over several documents furnished them by the Ath- 
erton men. On October 20, they rendered their report, a lengthy doc- 
ument, in which Rhode Island's disrespectful conduct is enlarged 
upon. Not having heard any pleas in behalf of Rhode Island, the 
commission naturally came to the decision that the jurisdiction of 
Narragansett belonged to Connecticut and the right of the soil to the 
Atherton associates. The grant of the territory to Rhode Island by 
charter was declared invalid, since that clause was dependent entirely 



13G State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

upon the Winthrop-Clarke agreement which was later repudiated by- 
Connecticut. The decision of the royal commissioners in 1665 in 
behalf of Rhode Island was briefly disposed of by asserting that these 
"inadvertent orders were since by Colonel Nichols and themselves 
reversed".^ Cranfield, on October 19, wrote a letter to the King, 
abusing Rhode Island, and that colony, on the same date, explained 
her whole conduct to the King, contrasting the action of the present 
commission with that of the deputation of 1665, and stating that the 
refusal to exhibit royal authority had forced her to issue a prohibition 
of proceedings.^ All these letters and reports were brought before the 
English council, where they were apparently disregarded in making 
Way for the rapidly maturing scheme of bringing Narragansett within 
a general New England province. 

For several years, the English government had had serious intention 
of reducing all the Ncav England colonies to an absolute subjection to 
the mother country. Through their natural resources, their enter- 
prise, and their virtual immunity from British duties, these colonies 
had built up a flourishing trade, and were reaping profits of which but 
a small percentage went into English pockets. In attempting to estab- 
lish a supremacy in commerce, the home government had found that, 
because the colonies paid little heed to British navigation acts, the 
Dutch were rapidly gaining control of the lucrative colonial trade. 
After the Holland war was over in 1674, the King again resumed his 
plan of subduing the New England colonies, and unfortunately for 
them, just at a time when they had been wasted and weakened by a 
destructive Indian war. But such a scheme, especially on account of 
the obstinacy and boldness of Massachusetts, required careful hand- 
ling. The great trouble was that the charters, enabling the colonies 
to evade English laws and making them largely independent, stood 
squarely in the way. These instruments of freedom, and particularly 
that of Massachusetts, must be first annulled ; and the appointment of 
Randolph as collector of duties in 1676, the separation of New Hamp- 

'This statement was decidedly untrue, since Nichols and his associates 
merely revoked their order requiring the Narragansett proprietors to quit 
their habitations, and not the important order giving the control of Narragan- 
sett to the Rliode Island magistrates. (7^. /. V R. ii, SM. ) The fact that Nichols 
was not present when these orders were made in 1665 was merely an infor- 
mality, and consequent reports confirming the orders were signed by the 
whole body of commissioners {R. I. C. R. ii, 127), as well as accepted without 
question by the King. 

^The documents illustrating the action of the Commissioners in R. L are 
in R. I. C. R. iii, 139-149, 174; Ct. Rec. iii, 320, 324. Cranfield's letter to Jen- 
kins, Oct. 19, 1683, is in Cal. of State Papers, Colonial, 1681-1685, p. 521. 



From King Philip's War to the Coming of Andros. 137 

shire into a royal province in 1679, and the hiter frequent complaints 
were all made with this end in view. In 1684, the first blow came. 
The simple trading charter Avhich Massachusetts had so long been 
permitted to enjoy, was annulled, and the colony became an absolute 
royal possession. 

The most important step having been taken, it was merely a question 
of time wlien the other colonies would be visited Avith the same mis- 
fortune. As Cranfield said, in one of his usual vituperative letters: 
''The temper and methods of government in Connecticut and New 
Plymouth is the same as in Boston, as corrupt but more ignorant. If 
the King take them into his hands as well as Boston, it will effect a 
general reformation. There is matter enough to furnish the attorney- 
general with grounds for cancelling their charters. If the King knew 
what a mean and scandalous sort of people the Rhode Islanders are, I 
doubt not that he would prosecute their charter also".^ Plymouth, 
though Cranfield does not seem to have been aware of the fact, was 
without any charter or constitution, and lay entirely at the King's 
mercy. The turn of Rhode Island and Connecticut was soon to come. 

Randolph, whose duties as informer against the colonies occupied 
more of his time than his business of collecting customs, had long 
urged that all the charters should be annulled, and in May, 1685, the 
Lords of Trade ordered him to "prepare papers containing all such 
particulars upon which writs of Quo Warranto might be granted 
against Connecticut and Rhode Island". Such a command was very 
acceptable to this energetic official, and he immediately set about gath- 
ering information whereby these two less offending but likewise valu- 
able colonies might, like Massachusetts, be garnered in for the croAvn 
interests. In a short time he had collected the following "articles of 
high misdemeanor" against Rhode Island, which, with those exhibited 
against Connecticut, be sent over to England : 

"1. They raise great sums of money upon the inhabitants of that 
colony, and others by fines, taxes and arhiti-ary imprisonment, con- 
trary to law. and deny appeals to his Majesty. 

2. They make and execute laws contrary to the laws of England. 

3. They deny his Majesty's subjects the benefit of the laws of 
England, and will not suffer them to be pleaded in their courts. 

4. They keep no authentic records of their laws, neither will they 
suffer the inhabitants to have copies of them. 

5. They raise and cancel their laws as they please, without the 
consent of the general assembly. 

"^Cal. State Papers, Colonial, 16S1-85, p. 521. 



138 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

6. Their Governor, Deputy-Governor, assistants, deputies, and 
other officers for the administration of justice, as well as juries and 
witnesses, are under no legal oaths. 

7. They violate the acts of trade, and have taken from Francis 
Brinley, Esq., his late Majesty's commission, appointing the said 
Brinley and others to administer an oath to the Governor of that col- 
ony, for his duly putting- in execution the act of Trade and Naviga- 
tion, made in the twelfth year of his late Majesty's reign; the Gov- 
ernor of that colony not having taken the said oath these three or four 
years last past, as is required in the said act". ij 

These charges were chifly trumped up for the occasion, the last, for " 
instance, being directly disproved by the records, and were never fur- 
nished with proof. They were sufficient, however, for the purpose 
desired, and in July were sent by the Committee for Trade and For- 
eign Plantations to the Privy Council with the recommendation that 
the Attorney-General should bring writs of Quo Warranto against 
both colonies. The royal order to this effect was soon given, but for ; 
some reason the writs were not immediately prosecuted. Randolph, j 
who was in England at the time, anxiously urged that they be entrust- 
ed to his care, and on October 6, the writs were accordingly issued.^ 
AVith these instruments of colonial destruction in his hands, he soon 
sailed for New England, where the colonists were despondently await- 
ing the King's decision. 

The Narragansett country, in the meanwhile, was rapidly being 
drawn into the English scheme of colonial dependence. The King had 
no intention of heeding the prejudiced report of the commissioners in 
favor of Connecticut, since he now proposed to include this territory 
in his contemplated New England province, to the exclusion of Rhode 
Island and every other claimant. As soon as the Massachusetts char- 
ter was cancelled, it was planned to erect Massachusetts, New Hamp- j 
shire, Maine and Plymouth into a royal province under the leadership 
of Colonel Percy Kirk, and on November 17, 1684, the Narragansett 
country was added to this dominion.- But upon the death of King j 
Charles, in February, 1685, and the consequent accession of James II, 
these plans were changed and a slightly different policy adopted. All 
these provinces except Plymouth, were placed under a President and 

'For the proceedings in procuring the writ, see R. I. C. R. iii, 175-178. and 
also the various references to R. I. in the five volumes of Randolph Papers 
issued by the Prince Society. No copy of the writ itself can be found, the 
date being ascertained from the record of reception (see R. I. C. R. iii, 190), 
and from the notification of issue. (Arnold i, 482.) 

-For this proposed province under Kirk, see Palfrey, iii, 395, 482; and 
R. I. H. S. Publ. vii, 198. 



From King Philip's War to the Coming op Andros. 139 

Council until a Chief Governor should be sent over. Although the 
representative system by towns was not allowed, yet the limitation of 
the Council's power and the appointment of the moderate Joseph 
Dudley as President showed that the new King did not intend to sub- 
jugate the colonies too abruptly. In May, 1686, Dudley established 
himself at Boston, and on the 28th made proclamation concerning 
Narragansett Country, erecting a Court of Record, appointing justices 
and constables, and forbidding all governments to exercise jurisdic- 
tion there. In the following month, the Council held session at Kings- 
ton, where they provided for two annual Courts of Pleas, changed the 
town names— Kingston to Rochester, Westerly to Haversham, and 
Greenwich to Dedford— and made many minor provisions, all contrib- 
uting toward a more permanent establishment of the King's rule.^ 

Randolph arrived from London with the writ of Quo Warranto 
against Rhode Island in May, 1686, and on June 22 delivered it to 
Governor Walter Clarke. Although the time for the return of the 
writ had expired, the assembly voted "not to stand suit with his 
majesty, but to proceed by our humble address to his Majesty to con- 
tinue our humble privileges and liberties according to our charter, 
formerly granted by his late Majesty, Charles the Second, of blessed 
memory". They realized the folly of opposing the royal will, even 
if the altered conditions were sure to be distasteful, and wisely accept- 
ed the inevitable. In this their last assembly for several years, they 
took the precaution to preserve as much liberty as they could by mak- 
ing detailed provision for the separate towns to conduct public busi- 
ness. Thus, with a strong supreme authority to protect them from 
their neighbors, they had only to fall back upon their original town 
governments to secure as much tranquillity as they could have other- 
wise had. 

Finally the assembly addressed a letter to the King in Avhich they 
narrated their action and beseeched his favor, and appointed an agent, 
John Greene, to carry the same to London. As if to show that no 
unified or corporate action could be taken by Rhode Island, this ad- 
dress was followed within a few months by no less than six memorials, 
each representing ditferent factions. Certain inhabitants of Narra- 
gansett and Newport, who disliked the Quaker Rhode Island govern- 
ment, and welcomed the coming of royal authority, protested against 
the assembly's expressed desire for a continuance of charter privileges 
and against the appointment of a London agent. Randall Holden 

'For Dudley's rule in Narragansett, see R. I. C. R. iii, 195-203. 



140 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

wrote to complain of the inroads of Massachusetts men in Narragansett 
country, while the land owners of that country and the proprietors of 
Pawtuxet, fearing that John Greene might attempt to invalidate their 
titles during his stay in England, sent letters to counteract his influ- 
ence at Court. The Quakers also sent an address, begging that their 
views in regard to oaths and warfare might be respected, and some, 
signing themselves as of Providence Plantations, wrote disowning the 
assembly's address and asking to be annexed to the general New Eng- 
land government.^ These various memorials do not indicate a serious 
division among the colony's authorities, but are rather the expressions 
of individuals who feared that their interests might be compromised 
by a sudden change in government. 

On June 3, 1686, the provisional government of New England under 
Dudley was abolished by appointing Sir Edmund Andros Governor 
in Chief of all those provinces. Upon receiving the address of Rhode 
Island, voting not to stand suit and consigning her welfare to the 
King's pleasure, the royal authorities placed the colony under the 
government of Andros, and requested him to demand the surrender 
of the charter. The King, furthermore, assured the "good subjects 
of our Colony and Plantation aforesaid, of our Royal countenance 
and protection in all things, wherein our service and their welfare 
shall be concerned".- This was under date of September 13, 1686. 
By royal command Rhode Island's corporate existence was not longer 
to be allowed. She was henceforth to be but a county, so to speak, in 
a great royal province, in which the colonists themselves had no privi- 
leges whatever except what they could persuade the royal governor 
to give them. 

If Rhode Island's history were to be divided into three periods, the 
first would extend to the establishment of the Andros rule, the second 
to the American Revolution, and the third to the present time. In 1686, 
Rhode Island was a far different structure from what Roger AA^illiams 
had imagined when he planted the first seeds of settlement on the 
banks of the Mooshassuck. In any retrospect of her history from one 
date to the other, two feelings are inspired, satisfaction and surprise — 
satisfaction that she grew and waxed strong from such scattered and 
unprofitable beginnings, and surprised that she should have managed 
to escape the continued inroads of her neighbors. Indeed, this latter 
achievement is one of the miracles of Rhode Island's entire early his- 

'These different addresses are in 7?. I. G. R. iii, 194, 208, 209; Cal. State 
Papers, Colonial, 1685-88, no. 819, 829; and Palfrey, iii, 506n. 

=The commissions to Andros are in R. I. C. R. iii, 212, 218. 



From King Philip's War to the Coming of Andros. 141 

toiy. Time and again other colonies obtained a foothold within her 
borders from which it seemed almost impossible to dispossess them, 
but her unwearied persistence, aided by the justice of her claims and 
by good fortune, enabled her in the end to maintain her territory 
intact. Yet the onus of blame for this aggression upon her lands— 
and this fact most historians of Rhode Island have either failed or 
been unwilling to note — should be visited upon her own disloyal in- 
habitants rather than upon her grasping neighbors. The submission 
of the Arnolds to Massachusetts in 1642 first gave that colony a pre- 
tence of control over Rhode Island territory and was the chief cause 
of the early troubles at Providence ; the scheming of Coddington to 
erect a monarchy or to ally the Island with a foreign jurisdiction to 
the exclusion of Providence and Warwick, kept the colony in an un- 
settled and defenseless state for several years ; the reproachful and 
entreating letters written by Richard Smith and his companions to 
Connecticut kept that government constantly awake to the urgency of 
striving for Narragansett lands ; and the existence of a strong royalist 
party who disliked the authority of Rhode Island and strove to replace 
it with a government more akin to them in religious and political 
thought, was a continued source of annoyance even after the passing 
of the Andros rule. In view of such repeated concessions to outside 
jurisdictions, it is little wonder that ]\Iassachusetts and Connecticut 
were able to make such vigorous invasions as they did upon Rhode 
Island's territory. Although most of those who disparaged her au- 
thority may have thought that they had sufficient cause for dissatis- 
faction, yet had they exerted themselves to amend these faults instead 
of complaining of them to other colonies, it would have been much 
better in the end for all parties concerned. We may not be justified 
in branding these symptoms of contempt with the name of treachery, 
since Rhode Island was at first a problem rather than an established 
fact in the line of governments ; but inasmuch as all these malcontents, 
with scarcely an exception, had formerly signed compacts of loyalty 
and union and had accepted the jurisdiction of Rhode Island so long 
as became their ends, we are surely safe in asserting that their homage 
to other colonies, generally with mercenary aims, was a breach of trust 
and fidelity. The chief obstruction to Rhode Island's progress during 
the first century was not foreign aggression, but internal disloyalty. 

In spite of the disaft'ection of her subjects and the incursions of her 
neighbors, Rhode Island had managed not only to survive, but also to 
better her material condition to a notable degree. From a few scat- 
tered settlements, despised and abused by the adjacent colonies, to 



142 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

whose persecution they owed their existence, she had grown to become 
a prosperous plantation which compelled recognition and was counted 
a factor in New England's economic and political life. Her popula- 
tion, which was nearly equal to that of Plymouth, amounted in 1686 
to about 4,000 souls, with perhaps 2,500 on the Island, 600 in Provi- 
dence, and the rest scattered throughout the other towns.^ 

The chief occupation oL' the colonists was agriculture, the majority 
"living comfortably by improving the wilderness". The royal com- 
missioners, in their report on New England sent home in 1666, said 
that in Rhode Island Avere "the best English grass and most sheep, 
the ground very fruitful, ewes bringing ordinarily two lambs, and 
corn yielding eighty for one" : and this fact of sheep-raising is empha- 
sized when we note that William Brenton alone in 1673 owned over 
1,500 head of sheep. ^ Shipping, as yet, contributed but very slightly 
to the colony's prosperity. Although Massachusetts possessed a com- 
merce of perhaps eight hundred vessels, large and small, Rhode Island 
had to acknowledge to the Board of Trade that "we have no shipping 
belonging to our Colonj^, but only a few sloops".^ Her favorable situ- 
ation, however, near good harbors, together with the inclinations and 
activity of the more youthful portion of her population, was soon 
destined to give her a standing in trade rivalling any other colony in 
New England. 

'The various early estimates of population vary somewhat, but the above 
is approximately correct. Callender (Hist. Discourse in R. I. H. 8. Coll. iv, 
149,) says that in 1658 "perhaps there were fewer than 200 families in the 
whole colony". Cartwright, in 1671, estimates that there were 1,000 men in 
R. I. able to bear arms ( Palfrey, iii, 36), and it is usual to reckon five persons 
for every man of military age. William Harris, in his Plea of the Pawtuxet 
Purchasers, 1677, alludes to Providence as a town of "about five hundred 
souls" {R. I. H. 8. Publ. i, 195), and a Providence taxlist of 1679 records 
about 125 taxpayers (Prov. Rec. xv, 187). Sanford, in his reply of 1680 
(Arnold, i, 490) says that "for planters we conceive there are about 500 and 
about 500 men besides". He also notes that there are about 200 births and 
fifty marriages a year, and 455 burials in seven years last past — doubtless 
partially due to the effects of Philip's war. The population of R. I. in 1708, 
the date of the first census, was 7181. 

-Hutchinson's Coll. of State Papers, p. 416, and Austin's Geneal. Diet. p. 
254. 

^Sanford further says that "as for goods exported and imported, which is 
very little, there is no custom imposed" ; that "the principal matters exported 
are horses and provisions, and the goods chiefly imported is a small quantity 
of Barbadoes goods for supply of our families"; and "the great obstruction 
concerning trade is the want of merchaiits and men of considerable estates 
amongst us". (This document is in Arnold, i, 488.) 



CHAPTER X. 
ANDROS AND THE ROYAL GOVERNORS, 1686-1701. 

The rule of Andros was looked forward to with less fear in Rhode 
Island than in any other colony. The establishment of this new 
authority in New England meant, first of all, the transference of all 
political power from the hands of the colonists to Andros and his 
council. Laws could be made from which there was no appeal, 
financial systems altered, and taxes levied by strangers who little 
understood local wants and requirements. The provision in Andres's 
commission allowing him to grant land upon payment of quit-rents 
Avas also fraught with much danger, particularly in this country, where 
soil was the chief item of wealth. But the most hated attack upon 
New England's institutions was the establishing of tolerance in 
religion. In order to obtain a foothold for the Church of England, 
Episcopal forms and rites were introduced and the Baptist, Quakers, 
and other despised sects were elevated to influence at the expense of 
the Puritan church. It was not liberty of conscience as a principle, 
but it signified the downfall of theocracy. All these invasions of 
former rights were felt most in Massachusetts, the especial object of 
royal interference, and least in Rhode Island. In the latter colony 
there was little commerce to lay duties upon, the collecting of any tax 
whatever was sure to be attended with considerable difficulty, and 
there was no established church to feel the effects of Andros 's attitude 
on religion. The coming of the new rule meant that Rhode Island was 
guaranteed protection against the oppressions and incursions of her 
neighbors, and was destined to enjoy a longer period of repose than 
had ever been her privilege before. 

Andros arrived at Boston on December 19, 1686, and immediately 
established himself in office. The first news Rhode Island received 
of his coming was in the form of an official letter, dated December 22, 
stating his authority to demand her charter, and appointing seven of 
her inhabitants as members of his general council. He also wrote a 
friendly letter to Gov. Walter Clarke to acquaint him of his arrival. 



144 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Rhode Island, althoiiiih she had no particular antipathy against the 
Andros rule, had no intention of parting with her charter except as 
a last resort, and replied that it "was at their Governor's house in 
Newport, and that it should be forthcoming when sent for, but in 
regard to the tediousness and bad weather, it could not then be 
brought"'.^ 

Andros held his first council meeting at Boston, on December 30,J 
1686, at which five of the seven Rhode Island members were present.1 
The colony was henceforth governed by this body, although her 
members do not seem to have taken enough interest to attend further 
meetings. The minor details of administration were cared for by a 
local court called "The General Quarter Sessions and Inferior Court 
of Common Pleas holden at Newport, Narragansett, and Providence 
Plantations". Of this court Francis Brinley was chairman and judge, 
and the royalist, or Narragansett, element generally predominated.^ 
Although the Rhode Island authorities had intended that all public 
business should be transacted by the towns, there seems to have been 
little done in this direction.^ The only business apparently done was 
the occasional and irregular election of town officers and a few 
spasmodic attempts to collect the tax rate ordered by Andros. It 
was chiefly in this latter respect that Rhode Island was made to feel 
the effect of Andros 's rule. One of the first acts of his council was 
to require the towns to appoint assessors for a property tax. The 
apparent disregard of the order by the towns and the constant refer- 
ence made by the local court to this neglect show that Rhode Islanders 
suffered little loss in this way. Another attempt to raise revenue was 

^R. I. C. R. iii, 219, and Jour, of Andros's Council in Am. Antiq. Soc. Proc, 
n. s., xiii, 242. 

=The proceedings of the Court, from June, 1687, to December, 1688, are in 
R. I. C. R. iii, 229-248. Brinley, Peleg Sanford, Richard Smith, and John 
Fones were the leading members of the Court. When, in December, 1687, the 
building of new court-houses was suggested, Brinley and Sanford "judged it 
convenient" that one be erected in Newport and the other in Rochester, for- 
merly Kingston. {R. I. C. R. iii, 228.) Warwick quickly protested, advancing 
her claim as a more central site than Rochester. (Ext. from Mass. MSS., ii, 
72, in R. I. H. S. Lib'y.) 

^Newport had only one town meeting during the Andros period, on April 6, 
1687, when one was called by warrant from the treasurer to choose selectmen 
to assess the rate of one penny to the pound on each inhabitant's estate. 
(Newport MS. records of Town Meetings, 1682-1739, p. 48.) Staples says that 
"little transpired in the concerns of Providence, that can now be gathered 
from the records". (7?. I. H. 8. Coll., v, 177.) Similar conditions seem to 
have existed in the other towns. 



Andros and the Royal Governors, 1686-1701. 145 

by farming out the excise on liquors, and by allowing quit-rents, but 
neither of these means seem to have yielded much return.^ 

Rhode Island, although she had voted not to stand suit with the 
king and was practically under the government of Andros, had not 
yet vacated her charter by actual surrender. In the spring of 1687 
the king in council made several orders for the prosecution of the 
writ of quo warranto against Rhode Island, and in November, Andros, 
while on a visit to Newport, again demanded the charter. Governor 
Clarke, forewarned of his coming, had sent the precious document to 
his brother, with the request that it should be concealed. After the 
departure of Andros the charter was returned to the governor, who 
retained it until the revolution of 1689 permitted a resumption of 
government under it." The colony seal, however, was produced and 
broken by Andros. 

Andros 's sole authority for governing Rhode Island was contained 
in that document which empowered him to obtain her charter and to 
exercise a like control over her as over the other New England colonies. 
On April 7, 1688, the king sent out a new commission to Andros, in 
which it was stated that since the issuing of the first commission of June, 
1686, it had been thought "necessary for the service and for the better 
security of the King's subjects in those parts, to join and annex to 
the said government the neighboring colonies of Rhode Island, Con- 
necticut, the Province of New York, of East and West Jersey", etc.^ 

Scarcely had the new instructions arrived when there came the 
report of a great political upheaval in England. In April, 1689, a 
messenger landed at Boston, telling of the revolution, the flight of 
James, and the invasion of William, Prince of Orange. Without 
waiting for further news, the colonists uprose, seized Andros, com- 
pelled the royal fort and castle to surrender, and formed a provisional 
government with the aged Bradstreet as governor. As soon as Rhode 
Island was informed of these proceedings, she took immediate action 

'Nathaniel Byfleld, of Bristol, was appointed by John Usher, treasurer of 
the Providence, to be farmer of excise in the Rhode Island district, as appears 
by an original warrant, July 8, 1687, in his name to John Whipple "to receive 
i the whole excise of all sorts of drink that shall be sold within the township 
\ of Providence by retail", for one year. (Quoted in Arnold i, 503, from a MS. in 
' Prov. Town Papers, No. 0500, and see Cal. State Papers, Col. Ser., 1685-88, No. 
'. 1093.) The only recorded introduction of quit-rents was in the case of Rich- 
! ard Wharton, who was granted about 1,700 acres in Narragansett for an an- 
nual rent of ten shillings. (Idem, No. 1414; R. I. C. R. ill, 225; and Palfrey, 
] iii, 529n.) 

'Quoted in Arnold i, 506, from Foster MSS. 
W. y. Col. Doc, iii, 537. 
10-1 



146 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

toward forming some temporary government of her own. In an open 
letter, signed by W. C. and J. C, and addressed to "Neighbors and 
friends'', the authors state that since "we are sufficiently informed 
that our late government, under which we were subservient, is now 
silenced and eclipsed, we, under a sense of our deplorable and un- 
settled condition, do offer to you whether it may not be expedient for 
tEe several towns of this late Colony, the several principal persons 
therein, to make their personal appearance at Newport, before the day 
of usual Election by Charter, which will be the 1st day of May next, 
there to consult and agree of some suitable way in this present junc- 
ture ".^ 

Accordingly, on May 1, at a meeting of a body styling themselves 
a Court of Election, it was determined that their former charter 
government should be resumed and that all officers, both civil and 
military, who were in place in 1686 should be re-established in office. 
A declaration was furthermore adopted justifying their action. We 
declare, reads the document, "that the late government of the 
dominion of New England, whereof Sir Edmund Andros was Governor 
in Chief, as we are certainly informed, is now silenced by reason his 
person as well as some of his council are seized and confined within 
the limits of Boston, in New England, for what cause best known to 
themselves. By which overture, we, the freemen aforesaid, were void 
of government, the consequence whereof appearing dangerous, we 
have thought it most safe for the keeping of the peace of our Colony 
to lay hold of our Charter privileges, establishing our officers according 
to their former station, hoping and not questioning but through grace 
and favor, our said Charter according to the extent of it may be 
confirmed unto us".- This declaration they addressed to "the present 
supreme power of England", admitting that they were "not only 
ignorant of what titles should be given in this overture, but also not 
so rhetorical as becomes such personages". 

Having thus established a temporary government, they now awaited 
the turn of events. Andras was a prisoner at Boston,^ and all New 
England was gradually recovering its freedom. After a futile attempt 
to hold an assembly in October, 1689, the Rhode Island authorities 

VR. /. C. jR.. iii, 257, under date of April 23, 1689. The signers are undoubt- 
edly Walter Clarke and John Coggeshall. An original in Clarke's handwrit- 
ing is in R. I. H. 8. M88., v, 29, in R. I. H. S. Library. 

-R. I. C. R. iii, 266-9, where the proceedings are misdated 1690. 

^For Andros's escape to Newport and capture, August 3, 1689, see Andros 
Tracts, i, 174, iii, 95-102; Hutchinson, i, 392; R. I. C. R., iii, 258; Randolph 
Papers in Prince Soc. Piibl., xxviii, 295; and Doc. Col. Hist. N. Y., iii, 614-617. 



Andros and the Royal Governors, 1686-1701. 147 

convened a meeting of the freemen in February, 1690. They had 
previously petitioned the throne for a confirmation of the charter, 
which was "not condemned nor taken from us", and now sought to 
place the government on a firm and permanent footing. Since Walter 
Clarke seemed disinclined to hazard himself in the position of gov- 
ernor, Henry Bull, the old Newport Quaker, was finally chosen in his 
stead. A full complement of officers was elected, the charter was 
demanded of the former governor, a colony seal — an anchor with the 
motto "Hope" — was adopted, and various other items of business 
were transacted. But these proceedings were not relished by all the 
inhabitants. There was a certain small party, composed chiefiy of 
Narragansett land owners, who considered themselves somewhat above 
the rest of their brethren in the colony, had tasted a quiet period 
of repose under Andros, and disliked any prospect of being under 
Rhode Island jurisdiction. The leader of this party was the staunch 
royalist, Francis Brinley. In a letter to his son, dated in February, 
1690, he scornfully alludes to Rhode Island's attempts at legislation 
and says, "It is high time his Ma.jesty would settle a government over 
New England. "VVe can never govern ourselves with justice or im- 
partiality, unless there be a good government established here, as in 
other Plantations. I must remove".^ But if he or his party hoped 
that Rhode Island's charter would be invalidated by the Andros 
proceedings, they must have been soon disappointed. On December 7, 
1693, after some correspondence on the subject, the attorney- general 
rendered as his final opinion, "I see nothing in point of law but that 
their Majesties may gratify the petitioners, and confirm their char- 
ter".- Although the Rhode Island government was now assured, 
Brinley did not remove. His landed interests were too large to permit 
his leaving the colony, so he remained and henceforth endeavored to 
do as much hanai as he could to what he called the "Quaker mob 
government ' '. 

The administration of the New England colonies had at length been 
decided upon by the crown authorities. The Connecticut and Rhode 
Island charters were allowed to stand, and Plymouth was united with 
Massachusetts under a new charter in 1691. The political rights of 
the colonists of this newly formed province were considerably cur- 
tailed, in that the governor was to be appointed by the king, the crown 
was to have the right of veto, and colonial departments, like the 

"■R. I. C. R., iii, 259. 

■Idem, p. 294. A similar opinion had been rendered in the case of Connec- 
ticut in 1690. (See Trumbull, i, 387.) 



148 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

customs and the admiralty, were made directly dependent on cor- 
responding departments in England. This was all in conformity 
with the king's colonial policy of arraying as united a front as 
possible against the French in Canada. To that end also, the first 
governor appointed for the new province was Sir William Phipps, a 
native of Massachusetts, who favored the crown interests and who 
had already won a military and naval reputation. He was the 
precureor of a line of royal governors who, in their endeavor to obtain 
a concurrent and united action against a common enemy, often en- 
croached upon the chartered rights of the smaller colonies of Con- 
necticut and Rhode Island. 

The first controversy between the crown authority and Rhode Island 
was over the question of militia control. The commission granted to 
Phipps entrusted him with the command of the militia in Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, and this, of course, clashed with 
the Rhode Island charter, which gave the colony sole control over 
her own troops. When Phipps sought to assume his power in this 
direction over Rhode Island, that colony, after a vain attempt at 
arbitration, made a formal remonstrance to the king. They claimed 
that, besides the question of infringement of chartered rights, the 
abstraction of her military prerogative was very prejudicial to a 
colony which had such a large water frontier, and that ah-eady the 
advice of certain Narragansett landholders in Phipps 's council had 
been most subvertive of the colony interests. On December 7, 1693, 
the attorney-general rendered as his opinion that the "power given 
by the Charter to the government of the colony to train and exercise 
the inhabitants of that colony in martial affairs is still in force". 
In August, 1694, the crown, acting upon the advice of the Privy 
Council, issued a manifesto limiting Phipps 's authority to command 
in times of war such quotas of troops as were required from the 
colony by royal order.^ 

Another ground of complaint made by Rhode Island at this time 
to the king was in reference to the eastern boundary line. Since 
Plymouth was added to Massachusetts under the new charter, any 
disputes with the former colony would now have to be waged Avith 
a much more powerful opponent. AVhen Rhode Island attempted to 
run the eastern line according to the terms of her charter, Phipps 
prohibited any such proceedings on account of the obscure wording 
of the clause and because the controversy was as yet unsettled. Rhode 

'The documents for the militia question are in R. I. C. R., iii, 285-300. 



Andros and the Royal Governors, 1686-1701. 149 

Island, therefore, in preparing her petition upon the militia question, 
in 1692, asked that the eastern boundary might be explained as run- 
ning from the old Massachusetts line south to the ocean, at a distance 
"three miles eastward of the most eastermost branch of the Narra- 
gansett Bay". The Massachusetts agents quickly petitioned for a 
hearing upon the question before it was decided. Unable to arrive 
at any determination at so great a distance from the locality in dispute, 
the English authorities, in 1694, recommended a reference of the 
matter to disinterested parties living near there.^ This was accord- 
ingly done, but no settlement of the controversy wns made until half 
a century later. Occasional attempts of Massachusetts otticers to 
distrain for taxes led to Rhode Island reprisals, and brought about 
an unsettled condition in the vicinity of the eastern line similar to 
that which had existed for so many years on the Connecticut border. 

In February, 1695, Phipps died, and the government of Massachu- 
setts passed temporarily into the hands of Lieutenant-Governor 
Stcughton. It was two years before Phipps 's successor was chosen, 
the home government in the meanwhile waiting for some cessation 
from the Indian wars in the north before making a new appointment. 
In the interregnum the most important event happening in Rhode 
Island was the introduction of the bicameral system into the legisla- 
ture. This move had been proposed many years before by the to^^^l 
of Warwick, and had aU but succeeded in being passed in 1666. The 
deputies, jealous of the power of the assistants, rather considered 
themselves as a distinct branch of the assembly, even declaring, in 
1672, that as the House of Commons is the people's representative in 
England, so the deputies are the representatives of the freemen here. 
It was only a question of time w^hen they would be satisfied with 
nothing but complete separation. On May 6, 1696, they formally 
desired that the deputies "shall sit as a House of Deputies, for the 
future, and have liberty to choose their Speaker among themselves, 
and likewise their Clerk". This was so voted, and henceforth the 
Governor and his council sat as the upper house of the assembly.- 
j The Narragansett Country during all this time had remained in a 
j strangely tranquil condition. Under Andros 's administration, although 

^Arnold, i, 529; R. I. C. R., iii, 294. 

-R. I. G. R., iii, 313. See also Moran's Bicamera System in America in J. H. 
U. Studies, 13th ser. no. 5, p. 22. Warwick, on Oct. 26, 1664, had petitioned 
that the Deputies should "meet and sit together and choose their Speaker as a 
distinct house ... it being the commendable form used in our native 
country as well as in the colonies about us". (Copies of Warivick Rec, p. 7, 
in R. I. H. S. Lib'y.) 



150 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

closely associated with Rhode Island, it had been treated technically 
as a separate province. Since there was much dispute as to the 
proprietorship of the territory, Andros, on August 31, 1687, rendered 
a careful report on all the claims. He rehearsed the different points 
in the history of the controversy, dismissing the Atherton mortgage 
claim on the ground that it had been extorted by force for a fictitious 
debt, asserting that the grant of the territory to Connecticut was 
cancelled by the subsequent grant to Rhode Island, and making 
especial allusion to the award of the commissioners in favor of the 
latter colony.^ Thus again did the judgment of an impartial arbiter 
favor Rhode Island, as against Connecticut, in regard to jurisdiction, 
and against the xVtherton purchasers in regard to right of the soil. 

Another matter that came up for Andros 's consideration, in 
connection with the Narragansett lands, was in regard to the Huguenot 
settlements in East Greenwich. The persecutions folloAving the repeal 
of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 caused great numbers of the most 
enterprising and skillful Protestants in France to flee to America. 
They formed settlements at Oxford, Massachusetts, New Rochelle, New 
York, and elsewhere. In the autumn of 1686 about forty-five of 
these French families had come to Rhode Island, and on November 4 
had purchased of the Atherton proprietors a large tract of land in 
the northern part of KingstoA^ai. Here two dozen dwellings were 
soon erected, lands were cultivated, and a church established. Hardly 
was the settlement begun when the refugees unwittingly became 
involved in the bitter dispute over the Narragansett lands that had 
been so long in progress. In July, 1687, some residents of East 
Greenwich and of Kingstown forcibly carried off forty loads of hay 
from the Frenchmen's meadows. The Huguenot minister immediately 
hurried to Boston to make complaint before Governor Andros. When 
summoned to explain their proceedings, the Greenwich men asserted 
that the lands in question had been laid out to them nine years before 
by the Rhode Island government. Andros, unable to make any final 
decision upon the case, ordered that the cut hay should be equally 
divided between the English and the French. Although no further 
encroachment was made upon the settlement during Andros 's rule, the 
precedent thus set was followed a few years later, this time with 
more harmful results. In the summer of 1691 some inhabitants of 
East Greenwich, evidently of the more rude and lawless portion of 
the population, subjected the Huguenots to many annoyances and 

^Cal. state Papers, Colonial, 16S5-88, No. 1414v. See also Arnold, 1, 505. 



i 



Andros and the Royal Governors, 1686-1701. 15 L 

indignities. Monsieur Ayranlt, the old French doctor, thus quaintly 
refers to their afflictions : ' ' AA^e were molested by the vulgar sort of 
the people, who, flinging down our fences, laid open our lands to ruin, 
so that all benefit thereby we were deprived of. Ruin looked on us 
in a dismal state, our wives and children living in fear of the threats 
of many unruly persons". He describes how finally the ill treatment 
became so pronounced that his companions were compelled to flee 
from the colony, thus being "forced away from their lands and houses, 
orchards and vineyards". 

Rhode Island has been accused, and perhaps justly, of not doing 
enough to repress such disorderly proceedings. There was some 
justice in the claim of the East Greenwich men that the Atherton 
proprietors had unscrupulously sold to the refugees a tract of land 
to Avhich Rhode Island had the prior claim; but the claimants should 
have sought retribution by legal means and not taken the law into 
their own hands. We can excuse to a certain extent the Westerly 
participants in the broils and frays upon the southwest border, but 
the injuries inflicted upon these inoffensive Huguenots can only be 
condemned as hasty and willful. The Rhode Island legislators, 
although evidently disapproving of these actions, were either too 
indifferent or else too familiar with such disorders to repress the 
persecutors with the arm of the law.^ 

After the overthrow of the Andros rule the Narragansett Country 
lapsed quietly under Rhode Island control, the controversy gradually 
narrowmg down to a dispute over the territory on the extreme south- 
western border. Connecticut seemed unwiUing to press her claim 
until she received some assurance from English authorities, and in 
October, 1694, even desired that Rhode Island would make no incur- 
sions on the ivest side of the Pawcatuck. This, if not a tacit admission 
of the smaller colony's claim to the east side, showed that Con- 
necticut's former bold pretensions were weakened, temporarily at 
least, by her adversary's persistence and firmness. Rhode Island 
throughout steadfastly maintained her jurisdiction over the entire 
territory, appointing minor civil officers, admitting representatives to 
the assembly, and regulating the town boundaries. 

Connecticut's flagging interest in this territory, which had already, 
as their own deputy-governor had so prophetically told them in 1670, 

'This subject of the Huguenots in Rhode Island has aroused considerable 
historical discussion and has been adequately treated in E. R. Potter's French 
Settlements in R. I. (Rider's Hist. Tracts. No. 5), E. B. Carpenter's Huguenot 
influence in R. I. ( R. I. H. S. Proc, 1885-86, p. 46), and C. W. Baird's Hugue- 
not emigration to America, ii, 291-328. 



152 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

cost them more than it was worth, was suddenly revived by an opinion 
rendered in their favor by the attorney-general. In October, 1696, 
he reported upon a petition handed in by the Narragansett proprietors 
over a year previous, that the government of the said country was 
vested in Connecticut on account of the priority of her charter. 
Altliough from the many errors of fact that it contained the document 
seems to have been carelessly drawn, it was most unpropitious for 
Rhode Island in that it was chiefly confined to the legal aspects of 
the case. Rhode Island's claim to the territory was primarily a moral 
one, and if the dispute had been decided solely by reference to 
chartered rights, it is doubtful whether she would have received a 
verdict in her favor. But the reply of the attorney-general was 
merely the opinion of one man, and before any final action could be 
taken in the matter, the Rhode Island agent had entered a counter- 
petition. The result of it all was that no action was taken beyond 
advising both colonies that the controversy should be settled by 
arbitration. 

Now that a cessation from hostilities with the French on the 
Canadian border was in sight,^ it seemed a most opportune time for 
the crown authorities to impose greater restraints on colonial com- 
merce for the advantage of English merchants. The Navigation Acts, 
which had been enacted several years before to benefit home markets, 
had fallen into considerable disuse and needed some strong and 
energetic administrator to revive and enforce them. If the New 
England colonists heecTed these laws, they could neither procure other 
than English products nor export to any but English marts; and 
now, having inspired the fear that they might learn to manufacture 
for themselves, they were inflicted with a law which forbade the 
exportation of any wool products, even from one colony to another. 
The home authorities intended to crush at the outset any possible 
rivalry whereby the English merchants would lose colonial customers. 
As a preliminary step to the introduction of the new regime, on 
May 15, 1696, the management of colonial afl'airs, which for over two 
decades had been in the hands of a committee of the Privy Council, 
was entrusted to the body kno-wm as the "Lords Commissioners for 
Trade and Plantations". Although the ostensible object of this 
board was to promote trade and improve the plantations, its creation 
was a clear indication of the policy to follow. 

Another matter in the colonies demanding the immediate attention of 

^The Treaty of Ryswick brought about peace on Sept. 20, 1697. 



Andros and the Koyal Governors, 1686-1701. 153 

the home government was the prevalence of smuggling and of piracy. 
The restraints on colonial trade were so oppressive and yet so easily 
evaded that the incentive to import goods without paying duties was 
too tempting to be resisted. Furthermore, during the late war with 
France, naval operations had been chiefly carried on by a class of 
vessels fitted out at individual expense, commissioned to attack the 
enemy of the colony governors, and known as privateers. Since the 
share that they obtained in prizes was undoubtedly large, the close 
of the war found these vessels most unwilling to give up their lucrative 
trade. Some of them turned to preying upon any foreign commerce 
that they met with, until it finally became a recognized fact that the 
distinction between privateering and piracy was being quite disre- 
garded. The English authorities complained, and perhaps rightly, 
that colonial governors issued commissions to known pirates, that 
American ports served as harbors of refuge for these transgressors of 
the law, and that the trade was one of which men high in colonial 
office were the silent, if not the open, abettors. 

These pressing needs, combined with the necessity of obtaining a 
better state of colonial union, required the appointment of a general 
governor who would be a fearless and energetic observer of duty, and 
one who was not in sympathy with the desires and aspirations of the 
colonists. A man of this sort was found in the person of Richard 
Coote, Earl of Bellomont. In June, 1697, he was commissioned as 
governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and also of New 
York, thus consolidating to a greater extent the northern colonies. 

One of the first cares was to repress the piracy which existed 
throughout the colonies, and in which Rhode Islanders, according to 
contemporarj^ letters, were considered the worst offenders. Indeed, 
nearly all the transactions which Rhode Island was to have with 
Bellomont during his short rule were to be in regard to this one 
matter. Nor was her reputation in this respect entirely undeserved. 
Many of the letters written in denunciation of her conduct, it is true, 
were dra^vn up by her enemies. Governor Fletcher, of New York, 
displeased because of her refusal to send him troops, wrote in 1696 : 
"Rhode Island pays no obedience to any command from the crown", 
and men like Randolph, Brinley, and others were ever ready to 
convert a rumor of her misbehavior into accepted fact. But there is 
scarcely a doubt that the commodiousness of her numerous harbors, 
the independence and habitual fearlessness of those of her inhabitants 
who followed the sea, and the inability of her lawmakers to enforce 
all of their decrees, contributed to make the colony a notorious resort 



154 State op Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

for privateers and pirates. Even before Bellomont's appointment the 
Board of Trade had written to Rhode Island in February, 1697, 
cautioning her that "due care should be taken for the future, that no 
pirates or sea-robbers be anywhere sheltered or entertained, under 
the severest penalties". Thus the letter continues : "We are obliged, 
in giving you this notice, to recommend it so much the more particu- 
larly to your care, by reason that upon occasion of the late trials of 
some of Avery's crew here, several informations have been transmitted 
to us, wherein mention is made of Rhode Island as a place where 
pirates are ordinarily too kindly entertained ; some of the expressions 
in those papers are as follows : 

" 'William Mews, a pirate, fitted out at Rhode Island. Thomas 
Jones is concerned in the Old Bark, with Captain AA^ant, and lives in 
Rhode Island. Want is gone into the Gulf of Persia, and in all 
probability is either at Rhode Island or Carolina by this time. Want's 
wife lives there. Want broke up there about three years ago, after 
a good voyage, and spent his money there, and in Pennsylvania. ' 

"These, and such like things, we say, obliges us to more strictly 
require of you that an extraordinary care be henceforwards taken in 
that Island for the preventing and suppressing such like practices; 
and particularly that all persons who are anyways involved in that 
guilt, be sought out and punished, according to the utmost severity 
of the law; of which we expect a particular account".^ 

A few months later, in April, 1697, came another letter of complaint, 
this time in regard to Rhode Island's neglect to prosecute those who 
evaded the payment of duties and customs. The colony, to be sure, 
had enacted, in July, 1696, that no vessel owner could procure a com- 
mission unless he gave a bond of one thousand pounds that he would 
"not proceed upon any unlawful act". But as the king now wrote, 
the present "abuses mnst needs arise, either from the insolvency of 
the persons who are accepted for security, or from the remissness or 
connivance of such as have been, or are Governors".- Since the letter 
further threatened Rhode Island with forfeiture of her charter, if 
the trade laws were continued to be evaded, it can be easily seen that 
the matter was assuming considerable importance in the eyes of the 
English authorities. 

The foregoing extracts sufficiently show to what an extent Rhode 
Island was engaged in this illegal traffic. Bellomont spent the first 

'R. I. C. R., iii, 322. 

^i?. /. C R., iii, 326. Even as far back as 1683, Governor Coddington had 
been accused of refusing to arrest certain pirates. (See R. I. H. S. Publ., vii, 
196.) 



Andros and the Royal Governors, 1686-1701. 155 

year of his administration in New York, not arriving at Boston until 
May, 1699. In the meanwhile the subject of piracy continued to 
occupy the attention of the Rhode Island colonists to the exclusion of 
most other matters. Brenton, her London agent, returned in January, 
1698, armed with two important papers— one appointing a commission 
to administer to Governor Clarke the oath concerning the acts of 
trade, and the other establishing a court of admiralty, of which Peleg 
Sanford was to be judge and Nathaniel Coddington register. Clarke, 
on the ground that he was a Quaker, absolutely refused to take the 
oath, and also tried to oppose in every way the appointment of Sanford 
as judge. Brenton immediately forwarded an account of these trans- 
actions to the Board of Trade and urged that a warrant be issued 
against Clarke, who, it must be confessed, had shown great lack of 
tact in the affair. Obstinately assertive of his supposed rights and 
openly opposed to the royal interests when Rhode Island most needed 
royal protection, it is a matter of little surprise that we find Clarke 
displaced before another meeting of the assembly by a new governor. 
With him the Quaker government in Rhode Island may be said to have 
come to an end.^ 

The new administration, at their first meeting in May, 1698, took 
steps to repress piracy. They passed a law requiring the officers to 
arrest any persons with suspicious amounts of foreign coin or mer- 
chandise in their possession, and issued a proclamation warning the 
people not to harbor pirates or receive their goods. Governor 
Cranston also wrote a letter to the Board of Trade, in answer to the 
long letter of complaint received over a year before. He did the best 
thing that could be done in the matter, expressing ignorance of the 
pirates specifically named, and asserting that Rhode Island never 
countenanced any such illegal proceedings. But within a few weeks 
another letter was sent to England, slightly embarrassing these attempts 
at justification. Randolph, the old enemy of Rhode Island, and New 
England as well, stopped at Newport on his return from New York 
and wrote a most bitter and vindictive account of proceedings as they 
appeared to his eyes. After alluding to the contest between Brenton 
and Clarke, he began an assault upon the highest office-holders. ' ' The 
Governor and his two uncles", he said, "have been very great gainers 

^R. I. C. R., iii, 329-331. Although the Quaker government may be said to 
have come to an end, an informer of the Board of Trade asserted, in 1699, that 
"Mr. Cranston was one of the demi-Quakers only put in to serve the Quakers" 
(Palfrey, iv, 236), and Randolph wrote, in 1700, that "Cranston is the present 
Governor, but the Quakers have the sole administration of the Government". 
(Prince 8oc. Puhl., xxix, 253.) 



156 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

by the pirates which have frequented Rhode Island. Three or four 
vessels have been fitted out from thence to the Red Sea. Walter 
Clarke, the late Governor, and his brother, now the Recorder of the 
place, have countenanced pirates and enriched themselves thereby". 
The letter ended with a tirade upon Rhode Island lawlessness. 

In December, 1698, the Board of Trade submitted a formidable 
representation to the king about the irregularities in Rhode Island. 
It was a general attack upon their refusal to take oaths, their unlawful 
assumption of admiralty power and obstruction to the court erected 
by the king, and their encouragement of piracy. "Their favoring of 
pirates and carrying on illegal trade has been so often complained 
of, and the instances hereof are so manifest, that we cannot doubt 
the truth of it". Upon a reading of this document, it was ordered 
that the Earl of Bellomont be commissioned to procure legal evidence 
in relation to the charges, with a view toward "a Quo Warranto, or 
such other proceedings for a remedy for those evils". The commission 
instructed Bellomont to inquire into the provisions of their charter 
and laws, as well as into their so-called "irregularities", and was 
accompanied by a specific list of questions to be propounded to Clarke, 
Greene, Easton, Sanford, and Cranston.^ 

In September, 1699, Ijord Bellomont started out for Newport to 
inquire into the mal-administration of Rhode Island. He was met at 
Portsmouth by the Governor and the assistants of the colony, accom- 
panied by a small troop of horse, and was escorted to Newport. He 
carefully records in his journal the details and results of his week's 
visit, and narrates how he examined the various officers of the govern- 
ment, interrogated as to the charter and laws, heard testimony 
concerning the Narragansett Country, and made a thorough investiga- 
tion in regard to piracy. Two months after his return to Boston he 
sent in to the Board of Trade a report on the state of affairs in Rhode 
Island. This document specified under twenty-five distinct heads 
wherein he judged that the colony had practised irregularities of 

'The instructions are in R. I. C. R., iii, 363. Bellomont, who had remained 
in New York during the first year of his administration, arrived in Boston, 
May 26, 1699. The following day Cranston wrote a long letter to the Board of 
Trade, enclosing a few copies of documents and asserting the falsity of Ran- 
dolph's reports. This diplomatic attempt at justification was answered by the 
Board of Trade with a letter of reprimand, rebuking the Rhode Islanders for 
not sending authentic copies of their laws, accusing them of "shuffling in their 
correspondence", and assuring them that "unless such a reformation be sin- 
cerely set about, yoa will inevitably fall into such inconveniencies as will 
make you sensible of your miscarriages, when perhaps it may be too late". 
(Idem, p. 376.) Lord Bellomont wrote that this reproof was a "mortification 
to them." 



Andros and the Royal Governors, 1686-1701. 157 

government and had trangressed their chartered powers. Of course 
the subject of piracy occupies a prominent place, his finding being 
that "the government is notoriously faulty in countenancing and 
harboring of pirates, who have openly brought in and disposed of 
their effects there, whereb}^ the place has been greatly enriched. And 
not only plain breaches of the Acts of Trade and Navigation have been 
connived at, but also manifest and known piracies; and all that has 
been done by them on pretence of seizing and talving up of known 
pirates has been so slender, weak and not pursued to effect, as plainly 
demonstrates it was more in show, than out of any hearty zeal or desire 
to suppress and bring such notorous criminals to justice." 

The frequent spiteful remarks he makes about the social condition 
of the Rhode Islanders show that they had little to expect from his 
friendship, and also that some of the so-called royalist faction in the 
colony had made good use of their opportunity to pay back old 
scores.^ Such statements as ' ' The generality of the people are shame- 
fully ignorant, and all manner of licentiousness and profaneness does 
greatly abound", the attorney-general is "a poor illiterate mechanic, 
very ignorant", and "the assistants are generally Quakers, illiterate 
and of little or no capacity, several of them not able to write their 
names, or at least so as to be read", remind us of the denunciatory 
epithets of the early Massachusetts clergy, and show that, even if 
they were partially true, this courtly English lord could have little 
understood the primitive conditions in the New World. A matter of 
much more moment to the Rhode Island people, however, and one 
which promised seriously to threaten the existence of their charter, 
was the charge Bellomont brought against them of acting beyond their 
granted rights. He assumed that their electing of officers by proxy, 
the exercise of judicial power by the general assembly, the assumption 
of admiralty jurisdiction, and even the levying of taxes were all 
irregular and illegal because there was no express authority in the 
charter for so doing. The question as to whether they had transcended 
their power or not is surely debatable, since the charter permitted them 
to make laws for their own ' ' good and welfare ' '. But, right or wrong, 
the query raised operated much to Rhode Island's disfavor in the 
eyes of the Board of Trade. They had commissioned a competent 
person to make an investigation and had received from him a report 

'Bellomont leaves little room for doubt as to who are meant when he refers 
to the "several gentlemen most sufficient for estate" who are neglected in office 
and maligned for their affection to his Majesty's service; and he even men- 
tions Brinley as one of those who make particular complaint against irregular- 
ities of government. 



158 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the substance of whicli was expressed in its concluding sentence : "I 
apprehend his Majesty is neither honored nor served by that govern- 
ment as at present it is managed". A few more blows like this, and 
Rhode Island's struggle would be ended. 

During the next few months, while the matter was undergoing 
consideration in England, the different parties in Rhode Island were 
each endeavoring to obtain the favor of Lord Bellomont. Governor 
Cranston wrote, apologizing for not sending the required transcripts 
of the laws, and concluding that his "Lordship had taken some dis- 
pleasure against us " ; while former Governor Clarke sent along a letter 
that would to-day be considered a rather strange combination of 
religion and flattery. The letters of the Brinley faction contained 
much more substance than those of their opponents, since to bring 
.charges was evidently easier than to make excuses. Peleg Sanford 
wrote a skillfully worded letter, chiefly about the pirates and the 
infringement of charter privileges. Resentfully did he assert: "Let 
a man's intentions be never so resolved faithfully to discharge his 
Majesty's commands, it's not to be effected so long as the government 
remains as now constituted". Brinley himself, who had been re- 
quested by Bellomont to aid in obtaining a transcript of the Rhode 
Island laws, sent frequent letters of complaint. When he found that 
Cranston had forwarded a copy without giving him notice, he drew 
up a severe arraignment of Rhode Island legislation in general, and 
of several arbitrary acts in particular. "We are well satisfied", he 
says, "that the laws are not transcribed as they stand on record. 
There are more acts, perhaps one-third or more, that they sent not 
unto your Lordship, having thrown them aside, and passed an act 
that those sent are our body of laws, to the deception of his Majesty 
and the grievance of the subjects, who have suffered and have been 
kept in bondage under laws they are ashamed should be seen. . 
We dare not presume to give your Lordship a further account of our 
miscarriages, for fear our report should not gain credit with your 
Lordship ; our enormities being so great and numerous, may surpass 
belief. ... As we are, we are not fit nor capable to be a govern- 
ment ' '. 

With all this amount of evidence against Rhode Island in his 
possession, Bellomont made occasional mention of the colony in his 
reports to the home government. In one of his letters he says : "I 
received not the laws of Rhode Island til the 23rd of last month, which 
I now transmit to your Lordships ; it seems that government has taken 
all this time to prune and polish 'em. And yet after all, I believe the 



Andros and the Royal Governors, 1686-1701. 159 

world never saw such a parcel of fustian". Brinley's frequent 
allusions to the oppressions of himself and his friends in Narragansett 
Country also attracted Bellomont's attention. He refers to the "great 
violence done the people there by the government of Rhode Island, in 
levying taxes on them out of all measure and proportion. That people 
is much to be pitied, for I look upon them to live in a state of war, 
while the rest of the King's subjects live in peace and quietness".^ 
. On April 8, 1700, the Board of Trade took action upon Bellomont's 
report. They sent an abstract of the document to the king and 
recommended that it be referred to the law officers of the crown, "to 
consider what method may be most proper for bringing the colony 
under a better form of government". In fact, the arbitrary acts of 
all the chartered colonies, and of Rhode Island in particular, led the 
English officials to believe that they were "thirsting for independ- 
ence". The Lords of Trade, in a report to the king, asserted that 
those colonies which had charters "had not only assumed the power 
of making by-laws repugnant to the laws of England and destructive 
to trade, but they refused to transmit their Acts, or to allow appeals, 
and continued to be the retreat of pirates and illegal traders, and the 
receptacle of contraband merchandise"; that "these irregularities, 
arising from the ill use they made of their charters, and in the inde- 
pendency they pretended to, evinced how necessary it became, more 
and more every day, to introduce such a regulation of trade, and such 
an administration of government, as should make them duly sub- 
servient to England": and that, "since the royal commands had not 
met with due obedience, it might be expedient to resume their charters, 
and to reduce them to the same dependence as other colonies, which 
would be best effected by the legislative power of the kingdom. "- 

Governor Cranston, foreseeing the storm that was impending, wrote 
a letter to the king, imploring pardon for failures and weaknesses and 
begging a continuance of charter privileges. He also informed the 
Board of Trade that the late deputy-governor had been deprived of 
office on account of his illegally granting privateer commissions, and 
that a more perfect copy of the laws was to be made and sent under 
seal. But all his excuses and supplications could have scarcely stood 
ground against the complaints of Rhode Island's enemies, had not a 
sudden event deprived the colony of her most formidable opponent. 
The death of Lord Bellomont in New York, on March 5, 1701, removed 

'Bellomont's Journal, Report, and all the above correspondence are in R. I. 
C. R., ill, 385-400. 
^Palfrey, iv, 200. 



160 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

a powerful adversary, one who, in his charges, aimed at the most 
vital defects of her government, and who would never allow his 
persistence to be weakened by entreaty or adulation. The influence 
of the accusations Avhich he had already made might even yet have 
worked harm to Rhode Island, had not another death occurred before 
the end of the following year. Scarcely had the board recommended 
that the colonies be reduced to a state of dependency, when the king's 
death, in March. 1702, changed the Avhole course of events and post- 
poned all consideration of the subject. 

Rhode Island had passed through the most dangerous crisis in her 
history. As Arnold remarks, "That she was not utterly crushed 
beneath the cumulative evidence of every kind of irregularity that 
was hurled upon her by the indefatigable zeal and the consummate 
ability of Bellomont, can scarcely be accounted for by any human 
agency. It is the greatest marvel in the history of Rhode Island in 
the seventeenth century".^ How far she can be held responsible for 
the several charges made against her is a question of considerable 
doubt. As regards piracy, it was certainly never proved that the 
colony as a whole favored this illicit trade. That persons claiming 
residence in Rhode Island were engaged in the traffic, and that certain 
ones high in authority may have used their office to obtain money 
from those so engaged, may perhaps have been true ; but that there 
was any actual complicity between the colony as a government, and 
the pirates, as was so often charged, was never shown by any letter 
or report submitted to the English authorities. The commodious 
harbors of Narragansett Bay naturally served as a shelter for the 
privateers and later for the freebooters, while the ease with which 
commissions could be obtained, both during and after the war, brought 
many adventurers to Rhode Island who reaped rich rewards at the 
expense of the colony's reputation.' 

The charges which Rhode Island found it more difficult to answer 
were those which Bellomont made regarding her general infringement 
of charter privileges. Only unless we accept his interpretation of 
these privileges as correct, can we agree with him that Rhode Island 
was at fault. Though ignoring the discretionary power which the 
colony legally possessed, he would have construed the charter as 
virtually depriving the people of all rights of self-government. The 

'Arnold, i, 552. 

-Randolph, writing in 1700, reported that "7 or 800 buccaneers in the West 
Indies were resolved to get possession of Rhode Island, being a place abound- 
ing in provisions". {Prince Soc. Publ., xxix, 253.) 



The Administration of Governor Cranston. 161 

English authorities, when they had granted certain privileges to a 
straggling settlement, could not seem to understand how that settle- 
ment could exercise those very same rights after it had attained to a 
full-a'rown colony. 

Although Rhode Island had emerged from all these dangers 
unimpaired, she can scarcely be said to have become invul- 
nerable to her enemies. Her independence, her unusual privi- 
leges accorded by charter, and her persistence in maintaining what 
she believed to be her rights, led her into further controversies with 
the royal governors, and rendered her future still a matter of con- 
siderable uncertainty. She had entered upon the beginning of a 
new century, but she had by no means finished her struggle for 
existence. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR CRANSTON. 

The death of Bellomont, although warding off for the time being 
the almost sure revocation of Rhode Island's charter, did not entirely 
free the colony from possible danger. The person chosen to succeed 
that aggressive official was the able and energetic Joseph Dudley, who, 
now that he had the royal authority behind him, could make atonement 
for some of the indignities that he had suft'ered under the Andros 
revolution ten years before. There was one point in his commission 
that was of vital interest to Rhode Island— that clause which made 
him Captain-General of her forces and Vice-Admiral of her whole 
territory. One of his first duties, in September, 1702, was to visit 
Newport, accompanied by several members of his council, to assume 
his command. Governor Cranston referred him to the charter of 
1663, which made the power over the militia one of the privileges of 
the colony, and further said that nothing would be done about yield- 
ing those privileges until the advice of the assembly had been asked. 
Angered at this refusal to obey his commands, he went over to the 
Narragansett Country, where the inhabitants cordially welcomed him 
and accepted his commission. A few days afterward, the assembly 
wrote Dudley that since there were no express orders from the Queen 
demanding the surrender of the militia, they considered it their duty 
11-1 



162 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

to continue the same as formerly. Dudley, like the other royal gov- 
ernors before him, could not conceive how so small a colony could 
offer such bold resistance, and quickly wrote home his opinion of that 
government, thus again imitating his predecessors. His assertion that 
the Quakers ' ' raved indecently ' ' at the publication of his commission, 
and his pleasant allusion to the Narragansett welcome, show that the 
anti-Quaker element was not backward in volunteering information. 
The peroration of his report reminds us strongly of some of Lord 
Bellomont's documents. "My Lords", he says, "I am humbly of 
opinion that I do my duty to acquaint your Lordships that the 
government of Rhode Island in the present hands is a scandal to her 
Majesty's government. It is a very good settlement with about two 
thousand armed men in it. And no man in the government of any 
estate or education, though in the province there be men of very good 
estates, ability and loyalty; but the Quakers will by no means 
admit them to any trust, nor would they now accept it, in hopes of a 
dissolution of that misrule, and that they may be brought under Her 
Majesty's immediate government in all things which the major part 
by much of the whole people Avould pray for, but dare not for fear of 
the oppression and affront of the Quakers' party making a noise of 
their charter".^ 

Thus did Rhode Island obtain the enmity of Dudley at the very 
beginning of his administration. It was not long before another test 
was to be made of their respective powers. In September, 1702, the 
Massachusetts Governor, by virtue of his position as Vice-Admiral, 
attempted to interfere with the proceedings of the admiralty court at 
Newport, which had been established by a colony law of 1695. Rhode 
Island's resistance brought forth the usual condemnatory letter to 
the Board of Trade. A year later Dudley's efforts induced the Board 
of Trade to ask the attorney-general's official opinion as to whether 
Rhode Island's exercise of admiralty jurisdiction did not furnish 
sufficient cause for the repeal of the charter. That officer replied that 
since the act was limited in its terms "until His Majesty's pleasure be 
further known", it did not warrant a forfeiture of the charter, but 
advised that the colony should be ordered to repeal the act. This 
was accordingly done and all admiralty affairs were placed in the 
hands of Dudley. Since the reasons for the annulling of the act 
included several serious charges against Rhode Island, the Governor 
took occasion to write a letter of explanation to the Board of Trade, 

'R. I. C. R., iii, 463. 



The Administration of Governor Cranston. 163 

showing that the absence of any English constituted court made the 
creation of a local court for the judging of prizes a necessity.^ But 
even valid excuses could not make much headway against Dudley's 
charges, and when the New York Governor reported that Rhode Island 
had refused to help him in his war against the French and Indians, 
the colony's name was regarded with added disfavor. Little could 
she do when svich powerful enemies at home and abroad were striving 
to bring all the chartered colonies into a general colonial government. 
She, at least, was not the only colony under a cloud, as Connecticut 
was visited A\dth much similar denunciation with the same end in 
view. 

By February 12, 1705, the Board of Trade had prepared charges 
against both colonies and caused copies to be sent to the Royal 
Governor to collect evidence and to the colonial governors to make 
ready their defence. The indictment against Rhode Island was drawn 
up under thirteen heads, some of which were repetitions and only a 
few important. Dudley spent much time in obtaining proof to sustain 
each charge, and finally submitted a mass of forty-two documents, 
which must have looked formidable to any one unacquainted with the 
subject, but which were chiefly accusations against irresponsible in- 
dividuals and not against the colony.- The charge that Rhode Island 
neglected the acts of navigation and countenanced piracy the colony 
denied, asserting that they not only detested such practices but had 
endeavored to suppress all such crimes. To the charge that Rhode 
Island harbored malefactors and also young men from other colonies 
who were induced to go there because the colony raised no taxes for 
the "support of her Majesty's Government and maintaining the war 
against the French", the colony replied, "this her Majesty's colony 
is free for any of her Majesty's subjects to come and inhabit there, 
nor is it in the respondants' power to hinder or prevent them there- 
from, and further say that where one person or family hath removed 
out of other provinces or colonies into this, there hath five times the 
number gone out of this colony and settled in other provinces. The 
which we deem to be the privilege of every English subject; and we 
do deny that any considerable number of young men hath fled out 
of other provinces into this colony or have been anyways harbored 
or sheltered in the same ; or that no rates or taxes are raised in this 

^R. I. C. R., iii, 508. The admiralty act is in Arnold, ii, 48. 

^Dudley's "proofs" can be consulted in the copies of English records in the 
John Carter Brown Library. The charges and Rhode Island's answers are in 
R. I. C. R., iii, 543-549. 



164 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 

colony for the support of her Majesty's interest and government, but 
on the contrary say that they have been at more than six thousand 
pounds charge within this seven years in fortifying and other charges 
occasioned in maintaining and defending her Majesty's interest 
against the common enemy and support of the government. 

"As to the fourth article that this colony will not furnish their 
quota, for answer we say that they are advised by counsel learned in 
the law that they are not obliged by law to furnish the other provinces 
or colonies with any quota, nor do they apprehend there is any 
necessity for the same. Notwithstanding which, obedient to her 
Majesty's commands, they have furnished the province of Massachu- 
setts with a considerable quota of men to the considerable charge of 
the colony. 

"As to the ninth article, that the government have refused to submit 
to her Majesty's commissions for commanding their militia of said 
colony, the respondents say that they are advised by counsel learned 
in the law that the militia of said colony, or the power of commanding 
thereof, is fully granted them by their charter, and that they have 
been in possession of the same above forty years : And as to the 
vice-admiralty these respondents further say, they have fully complied 
with Her Majesty's commands in that behalf, saving to themselves 
their right granted by charter for granting commissions to private 
men-of-war for the defense of Her Majesty's interest." 

The remainder of the charges, which concerned denial of justice to 
strangers, rejection of the laws of England from their courts, refusal 
to allow appeals to the king, speaking disrespectfully of her Majesty, 
etc., they considered as frivolous. The replies have been given with 
some detail, since they show how clear was Rhode Island's defence, 
and how far her accusers had to go to trump up charges against her. 
Dudley had furtive hopes of becoming a second Andros, of ruling over 
a united New England, and when he found that the Lords of Trade 
did not look with disfavor upon his project, he redoubled his efforts. 
The great obstacles in his path were the colonial charters, and some 
pretext had to be found for their annulment. 

The Board of Trade, their minds intent upon the "advantages and 
conveniences that may arise by reducing the chartered government", 
paid no attention to the colony's replies, but reported the gist of 
Dudley's charges to the Queen. The attorney and solicitor-general, 
furthermore, rendered it as their opinion that "upon an extraordinary 
exigency happening through the default or neglect of a proprietor or 
of those appointed by him, or their inability to protect or defend the 
province under their government and the inhabitants thereof in times 



The Administration of Governor Cranston. 165 

of war or imminent danger, your Majesty may constitute a governor 
of such province or colony". Finally, in February, 1706, a bill "for 
the better regulation of the charter governments and for the encour- 
agement of the trade of the Plantations" was sent in to pave the way.^ 
It passed the House of Commons, but failed to obtain the concurrence 
of the Lords. The presence of matters of greater national importance 
prevented the matter from again being brought to issue. 

Thus again was Rhode Island's charter saved. One cause certainly 
of England's unwillingness to take such decided steps w^as the lack of 
unanimity among the high authorities over the methods of restraining 
the colonies. There was a certain class which regarded these colonies 
as contributors to British commercial supremacy, even again referred 
to their dangerous encouragement of woolen manufactures, and looked 
suspiciously on colonial attempts at independence. It was this class 
that considered the infringement of the Acts of Trade a sufficient 
cause for the revocation of the charters. There was another class, 
chietly the conservatives, which thought that legal embarrassments 
stood in the way of annulling these charters, even if they had been 
issued by a former reign that was not now in the best of credit. Nor 
should the efforts of the agents be overlooked in this triumph of the 
rights of the chartered colonies. In 1702. Rhode Island, being with- 
out a regular colony agent, had intrusted her affairs into the hands 
of William Penn, the famous Quaker, who was now high in favor at 
the court of Queen Anne. Henceforth he lent his powerful influence 
to her cause, and at this particular time there were certain reasons 
why his aid was of especial value. Influential members of the Quaker 
sect were making common cause with the enemies of Connecticut, but 
through the light of Penn's eyes they speedily saw that the ruin of 
that colony meant the ruin of Rhode Island.- Thus did the much 
condemned liberality exercised in the time of Roger Williams receive 
its lasting reward. 

Although this defeat did not render the colony charters secure from 
all future dangers, Rhode Island's enemies accepted the temporary 
issue and ceased their persecutions. Dudley acknowledged some slight 
military aid given him by the colony and reported that he henceforth 
hoped to maintain a good correspondence with the government. 
Brinley, discomforted by the failure of his hopes, was secretly striving 

'Palfrey, iv, 369. The reports of the Board of Trade and the Attorney- 
General are in R. I. C. R., iv, 12-16. 

^This question of the Quaker influence in New England politics is more 
thoroughly discussed in Doyle's Puritan Colonies, ii, 400. 



166 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

to disengage himself from the jurisdiction which he despised. In 1709 
he wrote to Sir Francis Nicholson, the former governor of Virginia : " I 
could exceedingly rejoice if your honor could unite us under a govern- 
ment whereof you were supreme next under Her Majesty. ... It 
is all the hopes I have by your honor 's means to have a release of our 
slavery and ill treatment". He then continues to justify his argu- 
ment with uncomplimentary remarks about the government he desires 
to displace. "It is a Quaker mob government, the meanest sort rule 
their betters. I much question whether two persons in the ruling part 
of their government can write true English or frame a writing in any 
methodical way. I know them all well and know their abilities. Some 
of our highest rank in authority cannot write, and some in authority 
cannot read. We have now in our town of Newport three justices of 
three several trades; a shoemaker, a cooper and a carpenter, and each 
of them is a captain of a company, and the cooper is our general 
treasurer. We lie under great grievances and pressures and it 
is very hard upon us that we can have no remedy".^ The old Nar- 
ragansett settler realized that unless the Rhode Island government was 
supplanted by some friendly royal authority, he could never hope to 
get his numerous land titles confirmed in accordance with his wishes. 
But Rhode Island had weathered too many storms to be overthrown by 
the carpings of a few discontented men, and so Brinley's protest went 
for naught. 

One reason at least why Rhode Island was now coming to be 
regarded with more favor was due to her evident exertion to take 
some part in the wars that were being waged against the French and 
Indians. Not being in immediate danger, she, in common with Con- 
necticut, was not so eager to send volunteers to an unprofitable war 
as were the exposed colonies of New York and Massachusetts. True 
it was that she had plausible excuses in that she had already incurred 
serious charges in fortifying her own forts, and that her long water 
frontier required the maintenance of large bodies of men in her own 
territory. But it was the absence of necessity rather than inability 
that caused her backwardness in the matter. Dudley impatiently 
referred to Rhode Island when he said that the people of Massachusetts 
felt "very uneasy under their charge of service in the field, while 
others of her Majesty's subjects sleep in security and smile at our 

^R. I. H. 8. Publ., viii, 95. Nicholson commanded the expedition upon 
Canada in the summer of 1709. He had been the principal patron in the 
founding of Trinity Church at Newport, and it was perhaps in this connection 
that Brinley could lay some claim to his acquaintance. 



The Administration of Governor Cranston. 167 

losses and charge"; and he frequently alludes to the matter in his 
report, as passages already quoted have shown. When the colony 
observed, however, that her defect in this regard was being used as 
an argument for the revocation of her charter, she became more 
attentive to military operations. The assembly had occasionally 
ordered some slight assistance after continued urging by the royal 
governors, but now, in February, 1707, when Dudley asked for aid 
in his proposed expedition against Nova Scotia, it quickly voted eighty 
volunteers and a vessel equipped to convey them. Again in the un- 
successful expedition upon Canada in the summer of 1709, Rhode 
Island levied a war tax of £1,000, equipped two hundred soldiers, 
purchased two Avar vessels and fitted out several transports. Undis- 
mayed by this failure, which had put the colony to heavy expense, 
Rhode Island contributed an equal number of men and transports to 
the expedition of July, 1710, and also to that of the following May.^ 

Her services so far had been most creditable, but in common with 
the other colonies she had suffered greatly both through loss of men 
and outlay of jnoney. To meet these heavy expenses she had been com- 
pelled to imitate the neighboring colonies in issuing paper money.^ 
The soldiers needed money, the treasury was empty and the supply of 
silver coin was practically exhausted. Some temporary move, at least, 
had to be made, and so this apparently harmless little wedge was 
lightly driven in, destined in the end to almost split the colony in 
twain. The act ordered that £5,000 in bills of credit should be printed 
with different denominations, each bill to have the value of current 
silver money of New England. They were to be redeemed in specie 
by the treasurer at the end of five years, the sum to be secured by an 
annual tax levied solely for the purpose. As Arnold says, "Thus 
commenced in Rhode Island a system of paper money issues fraught 
with disaster to the commercial interests of the colony, whose baleful 
influence was to extend over nearly a century, distracting alike 
the political, financial and even the social condition of the people, and 
which was to be the occasion of most bitter partisan strife long 
after the Revolutionary war had left us an independent state. If 
we except the principles upon which the colony was founded, and 
which from their intrinsic truth have since become universal, this 

'The details of military appointments are in R. I. C. R., iv, 70-82, 93-98, 
120-124. The subject is gone into more thoroughly in the chapter on military 
history. 

=Bills of credit were first emitted by Mass. in 1690, by N. Y. in 1709, and by 
N. J. in 1709. See Potter and Rider's Account of Bills of Credit of R. I., p. 7. 



168 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

adoption of the paper money system is perhaps the first act of our 
colonial legislation whose influence extends beyond the period of inde- 
pendence".^ 

This wasting war, known to the colonies as Queen Anne's War, was 
rapidly drawing to a close, and the Peace of Utrecht, in April, 1713, 
finally brought a most welcome end to the conflict. Rhode Island 
took early opportunity to lay aside her trappings of war. The mili- 
tary stores and the powder were given over into the treasurer 's charge 
for safe keeping, and the cannon were tarred and laid on logs on the 
Governor 's wharf. She now found time to give more attention to her 
internal afi^airs. Questions of town boundaries, of the long delayed 
Digest of the laws, and of the improvement of ways of travel came 
up for discussion, that never would have been possible before. The 
records teem with allusions to the construction of highways and 
bridges, the erection of ferries, and the paving of streets. Various 
kinds of manufactures, as of hemp, duck, cordage and nails, were 
granted legislative encouragement. The laws regulating trade began 
to receive much necessary revision, for Rhode Island was slowly Init 
surely becoming a maritime colony. Whereas in 1690 there were 
scarcely five vessels belonging to the colony, wlien C4overnor Cranston 
made his report to the Board of Trade, in 1708, there were twenty- 
nine : and during the ten years preceding this latter date the colony 
had built for the merchants of other colonies nearly seventy-five ves- 
sels. As Cranston stated in regard to this increasing interest in ship- 
ping, "It is chiefly to be attributed to the inclination the youth of 
Rhode Island have to the sea. The land on said island, being all taken 
up and improved in small farms, so that the farmers, as their families 
increase, are compelled to put or place their children to trades or call- 
ings; but their inclinations being mostly to navigation, the greater 
part betake themselves to that employment, so that such as are indus- 
trious and thrifty, as they get a small stock beforehand, improve it in 
getting part of a vessel, as many of the tradesmen in the town of New- 
port also do, for the benefit of their children that are bred to naviga- 
tion, in which town consists the chiefest of our navigation : not above 
two or three vessels belong to all the colony besides. "- 

This interest in commerce continued to increase after the Peace of 
Utrecht, almost doubling the tonnage of the colony within the follow- 
ing ten years. Her vessels carried rum, sugar, molasses, lumber, 

'Hist, of R. I., ii. 39. 
■R. I. C. R., iv, 56-60. 



The Administration of Governor Cranston. 169 

horses and provisions to both the British and Dutch West Indies, to 
Bermuda, the Bahamas, Surinam, IMadeira, the Azores and the south- 
ern colonies, and brought back salt, rice, sugar, molasses, wines, peltry, 
cotton, and English woolen and linen goods. Such an increase in 
commerce meant a corresponding increase in population. In 1708 
the first official census showed that the colony contained 7,181 in- 
habitants, with Newport, "the metropolis of the government", pos- 
sessing 2,203, Providence 1,4'16, Kingston 1,200, and the remaining 
six towns from 200 to 600 each. Dudley in 1712 reported that Rhode 
Island had about 2,500 fighting men, and when after the peace this 
force had time to settle down and make provisions for their own social 
and economic betterment, the results must have been indeed striking. 

But in it all there lurked the shadow of the paper money question. 
Since the first issue in 1710 the assembly had emitted four other issues 
before the end of the following year, amounting in all to £8,300. The 
influx of all this paper had placed what silver there was in the colony 
at a decided premium, and the necessity of furnishing some medium 
of exchange was rapidly becoming an all-absorbing question. It was 
but a short while before the matter assumed political significance. As 
money continued to be scarce, there arose a considerable party which 
favored the further issue of paper money by the public bank system — 
that is, the emission of a large sum to be loaned at interest to any one 
who would give mortgage security on his estate. This party was 
chiefly composed of those who owned a great deal of land and thus 
hoped to turn it into cash, and also of those who were actively engaged 
in commercial pursuits, the success of which depended upon the ready 
money in the colony. 

The specie or "hard money" party foresaw nothing but evil in the 
continuance of such a medium of exchange. In February, 1714, the 
order of the general assembly that £2,000 of the outstanding bills should 
be put out of circulation by being burnt was not obeyed. This aroused 
much protest, and at the succeeding May election the specie party won 
a complete triumph, scarcely a member of the lower house being re- 
turned to his office. The paper money party evidently used the 
following year to advantage, since, in May, 1715, they thoroughly 
reversed the former success of their opponents. The deputy governor, 
all but one of his assistants, and nearly every deputy were displaced. 
The popularity and perhaps the neutrality of Governor Cranston, 
however, kept him in office. With the control of affairs in its hands, 
the party carried out its policy as it Avished, In July, 1715, the 
assembly, giving as reasons for their act the heavy expenses of the 



170 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

late war, the decay of trade and of farming, and the necessity of 
repairing the colony fort and the Newport jail, issued a bank of 
£30,000, to be loaned at 5 per cent, interest for ten years. The colony 
was thus committed to a course of action which it took many decades 
to change. The specie party made frequent protests, but when some 
expenditure of money was required, another lot of bills of credit was 
issued, and the necessary medium of exchange was provided. There 
is not space here to note the many successive issues of this currency.^ 
Suffice it to say that although it rapidly depreciated, ruining many 
individuals in the process, it usually served the purpose for which it 
was originally emitted. Its depreciation was due to the inability of 
the government, beset with constantly increasing expenses, to maintain 
it. The evils of the system were visited heavily upon many individuals 
and resulted in tarnishing the colony's good name, but those who 
were committed to the policy testified heartily in its favor. Gov. 
Richard Ward in a general survey of the subject, in 1740, referred 
to the absolute necessity of some kind of currency, if only of paper, 
and then remarked, "We never should have enjoyed this advantage 
had not the government emitted bills of credit to supply the merchants 
with a medium of exchange. In short, if this colony be in any respect 
happy and flourishing, it is paper money and a right application of 
if that hath rendered us so".^ 

Outside of the question of paper money, there was very little public 
business transacted in the colony between 1713 and 1719. Changes 
in other governments, like the death of Queen Anne and the succession 
of George I in 1714, and the appointment of Shute as Governor of 
Massachusetts in 1716, were not fraught with such momentous conse- 
quences as were similar changes a few years before. There was so 
little of public interest to be attended to, that a September meeting of 
the assembly at Newport in 1717 could not obtain a quorum, and an 
October meeting of the following year was held at Providence with 
the Governor and nearly one-half of the members absent.^ 

By 1719 the old question of boundaries was again coming to the 

'The subject is more thoroughly discussed in H. K. Stokes's chapter on 
financial history. It has been treated in monograph form in Potter and 
Rider's Account of Bills of Credit of Rhode Island. (Rider's Hist. Tract, 
no. 8.) 

-Rider's Hist. Tract, viii, 158. Ward's statement, however, should be con- 
sidered only as that of a strong partisan. 

^One item of interest, however, was the long delayed publication of the 
colony laws in 1719. For a history of the various attempts to secure a com- 
pilation of the laws in force, see Rider's introductions to the reprints of 1705 
and 1719. 



The Administration of Governor Cranston. 171 

front. The improvement in the state of society and the increase of 
Rhode Island's stability prevented border frays from being as frequent 
as in the early days; but the occasional conflicts that did happen, 
brought the matter of jurisdiction to the attention of Rhode Island 
and her neighbors. The northern line was the first to be settled. 
Ever since some Mendon people had complained, in 1706, that Rhode 
Island claimed land far beyond the Massachusetts line, there had been 
constant attempts on the part of both colonies to survey the proper 
boundary. Although the Massachusetts south line had been carefully 
laid out bj'- Woodward and Saffery in 1642, the inability of the com- 
missioners to arrange details delayed the final adjustment until 1719. 
In May of that year two committees reported that they had started 
from Wrentham Plain, and had run the line west across the Pawtucket 
River to a point two miles west of Alum Pond. This report was 
accepted by both colonies and entered upon the records.^ Although 
the northern line of Rhode Island was thus established, the controversy 
over the eastern line, formerly waged with Plymouth, but now to be 
contested for with the more powerful Massachusetts, was still open 
and was even now causing considerable dispute between the inhabitants 
living near the border. 

In the same year as the fixing of the northern boundary the old 
question of the Connecticut boundary was again revived, this time 
for final settlement. A request of the Board of Trade that a map 
of the colony should be drawn up reminded the assembly that nothing 
had as yet been done toward fixing the line with Connecticut. The 
two colonies in 1703 had agreed that the boundary should be the 
Paweatuck as far as the mouth of the Ashaway River, then straight 
to the southwest corner of the Warwick purchase, and then due north 
to the Massachusetts line. But nothing decisive had been done in the 
matter of surveying it." In 1719 both the Connecticut and Rhode 
Island assemblies appointed commissioners to negotiate the matter, 
although those of Connecticut were ordered only to survey the twenty 
mile line from Warwick Neck. When the committees met in April, 
1720, Rhode Island refused to allow any joint survey unless all the 
boundary lines between the two colonies were run. This angered the 
Connecticut assembly greatly and they immediately wrote a letter to 

^The various attempts at establishing this line are well summed up in foot 
notes in Arnold, ii, 27, 42, 62. An account of the Woodward-Saffery sui'vey of 
1642 is in N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., Iv, 155. 

^Arnold, ii, 65, gives a summary of the attempt to survey the line. 



172 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Rhode Island saying, "We had no thought, at that time, of settling the 
line between our colonies, which has too often been fruitlessly en- 
deavored ; nor is there any word in our act referring to it ; so that 
the rejecting of our commissioners upon the special business they were 
appointed to assist in, because they would not proceed to another 
which was foreign to it and about which there was no concert between 
us, is a matter which we believe you will think needs some explana- 
tion. ' '^ 

The letter then went on to state that the boundary at most could 
not extend beyond a line running south from the ]\Iassachusetts line 
to the head waters of the Pawcatuck River, a large pond in South 
Kingstown.- If the boundary was to be finally decided according to 
this interpretation, it would have resulted in a great loss of territory 
to Rhode Island. It meant that the straight line running north, 
instead of beginning at the junction of the Ashaway River where the 
Pawcatuck turns abruptly south, began at Worden's Pond over ten 
miles further east, thus reducing Rhode Island to a small strip of land 
bordering on Narragansett Bay and on the ocean. Rhode Island 
claimed that it was the intent of the patent of 1644 to grant territory 
as far west as twenty-five miles, that according to her charter of 1663 
the line followed the Pawcatuck River only as long as that river ran 
north, and that this specific boundary had been agreed apon by the 
commissioners of both colonies in 1703. She naturally made a 
vigorous protest and replied to Connecticut : "We perceive the whole 
scope and drift of your said remonstrance is to give us to understand 
that you will not comply with the agreement of the line between the 
two colonies made at Stonington in the year 1703, but wholly decline 
and reject that agreement. . . But as you have rejected that as well 
as all other endeavors for an accommodation, and will not be satisfied 
without swallowing up the greatest part of our small colony, and that 
as your colony is on the west, without bounds or limits, you covet the 
same on the east, we are therefore resolved no longer to be thus im- 
posed upon by you ; but are determined, Avith the blessing of God, with 
all expedition to make our appeal to the King in council for his deter- 
mination and decree of our westerly bounds."-' 

Both colonies now prepared voluminous reports for their London 

^R. I. C. R., iv, 275. 

-This pond is known to-day as Worden's Pond. The Pawcatuck river runs 
from the ocean northeast until it is joined by tlie Ashaway River. It then 
abruptly turns south, and after a long course east, finds its head in Worden's 
Pond. The location of these points is well shown in a map in Bowen's Bound- 
ary Disputes, p. 47. 

^These letters, dated June 1 and July 7, 1720, are in R. I. C. R., iv, 275, 276. 



The Administration of Governor Cranston, 173 

agents/ In February, 1723, a hearing was held before the<Board of 
Trade, which, on March 22, made its report to the Privy Council. 
This report, easily the best and most careful decision ever rendered 
on the subject, stated briefly the most important arguments of both 
sides and came to the following conclusions: "Upon the whole, it 
seems probable to us, as well as from the pretended grant of the Earl 
of Warwick and others to the colony of Rhode Island, as from the sub- 
mission of the boundaries to arbitration by the agents of Connecticut 
and Rhode Island so soon after the charter of Connecticut had been 
obtained, that King Charles the Second was surprised in his grant to 
Connecticut; and that His I\Iajesty intended to redress the grievance 
complained of by Rhode Island by his subsequent charter to them; but 
the former charter to Connecticut being still in force and never made 
void by scire facias or otherwise, it is certain that the relief intended 
for Rhode Island is of no force in law. However, in justice to Rhode 
Island, it must be observed that the transactions of the commissioners 
appointed by the respective colonies of Connecticut and Rhode Island 
[in 1703] are a strong proof that those of Connecticut did apprehend 
that the pretensions of Rhode Island were just and equitable ".- 

Thus after all these years of struggle and controversy this impartial 
tribunal arrived at what was undoubtedly the most just decision 
possible— that Rhode Island's claim to the Narragansett country, 
although not vindicated in point of law% was certainly justified by 
right and equity. The report concluded, however, with the wish that 
both colonies should submit themselves to His Majesty and be annexed 
to New Hampshire. When this proposal was submitted to the 
colonies, "it met with immediate protest. Connecticut in a brief reply 
declined to surrender her charter, and asserted her perfect willingness 
to abide forever by the King's decision upon the disputed lands. 
Rhode Island addressed a. lengthy answer to Partridge, her London 
agent, in which she likewise refused to be annexed to New Hampshire, 
arguing that such a course would neither be for the best interests of 
Great Britain, nor tend to quiet the dispute, nor aid the defence of 
the country, nor promote trade. They further showed the imprac- 
ticability of joining the southern colonies to New Hampshire by 
reason of the distance between those two portions of New England, a 
point which the Board of Trade seem to have been ignorant of.^ 

'These reports are in R. I. C. R., iv, 282-284, Ext. from Conn. MSS. ii, 73-113 
in R. I. H. S. Library. 

-«. /. C. R., iv, 307. 

^Connecticut's replv is dated October 28^ 1723, and that of Rhode Island 
Nov. 26, 1723. R. I. C. R., iv, 334. 



174 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Unable to make the colonies see the wisdom of giving up their 
charters, the Board of Trade decided to put an end to the Narragansett 
controversy by making the decision on grounds of equity and right. 
On January 25, 1726, they rendered a second report, recommending 
that the line be run according to the agreement of 1703. This was a 
complete justification of Rhode Island's claim. The Privy Council 
adopted the recommendation and reported accordingly to the King, 
who, on February 8, 1727, issued the final decree on the subject. It 
ordered that a line, ' ' drawn from the mouth of Ashaway River where 
it falls into the Pawtucket River, and thence extending north to the 
south line of Massachusetts Bay, may forever hereafter be the settled 
boundary between the two colonies".^ Rhode Island might well 
rejoice that this controversy, so long and bitterly contested, had been 
settled with the preservation of her territory as granted by the King 
in her charter. Her persistent efforts in defence of her rights were 
at last rewarded. 

The death of Gov. Samuel Cranston, on April 26, 1727, forms a 
fitting close to the long period of danger and trouble. It was for- 
tunate indeed for Rhode Island that during the last quarter century 
she had been under the wise and efficient administration of such a 
governor. Firm and courageous in character, tactful to an extraor- 
dinary degree in his correspondence with the English authorities, and 
thoroughly patriotic to the interests of his colony, he was exactly the 
man to preserve Rhode Island from the machinations of her enemies. 
Few rulers subjected to the test of annual election have ever remained 
in office as long as he. For thirty successive years his calm neutrality 
on such disturbing subjects as the paper money question and the im- 
portance of one or another religious sect,~ his tendency to avoid ex- 
tremes, and his personal popularity caused him to be elected to the 
highest position in the colony. He had taken up his task of adminis- 
tration at a time when the colony's existence was threatened both 
from abroad and at home. He had warded off the powerful attacks 
of Lord Bellomont, had guided the government through the long and 
exhausting srench war, had aided in bringing about a favorable 
settlement of two important boundary disputes, and now with the 

^R. I. C. R., iv, 373. The line was finally surveyed by joint commissioners 
Sept. 27, 1728. For an account of this survey and the subsequent straighten- 
ing of the line in 1840, see Bowen's Boiuidary Disputes, p. 48. 

-It was said that "he did not assemble with any sect nor attend any public 
meeting. The charter granted a universal liberty of conscience, and he was a 
keep-at-home Protestant. He was an impartial and good man". (H. E. Tur- 
ner, The Two Governors Cranston, p. 50.) 



The Administration of Governor Cranston. 175 

approach of death could witness a colony whose present stability and 
future promise was largely due to his own efforts. 

Under the lengthy administration of Governor Cranston the colony 
had experienced notable growth and progress. The population during 
this period of thirty years had trebled itself; and commerce, manu- 
factures and agriculture had increased in proportion. There was 
furthermore considerable attention now given by the colonists to the 
improvement of their social condition. Schools were deemed a more 
necessary part of a child's life; there were some attempts to check 
such social evils as drunkenness and slavery; and the year 1727 wit- 
nessed the establishment of a printing press at Newport. Another 
favorable sign Avas the groAvth of religious sentiment. The absolute 
liberty of conscience which was established by the founders as the 
basis of the colony had often been regarded by the religious bigots of 
the neighboring colonies as a step towards disorder and anarchy. 
Cotton Mather, writing in 1695, describes Rhode Island as 
a "colluvies of Anti-nomians, Familists, Anabaptists, Anti- 
Sabbatarians, Arminians, Socinians, Quakers, Ranters, every- 
thing in the world but Roman Catholics and real Chris- 
tians". But during the next quarter century many more churches 
were built. New and strong sects, like the Episcopalians, established 
themselves in the colony, and there was a general growth of religious 
thought, proportionate with the increase in population. The proof 
thus more clearly shown that religion could flourish where people were 
allowed to worship God according to their conscience, caused Mather 
to admit in 1718 that "Calvinists with Lutherans, Presbyterians with 
Episcopalians, Pedobaptists with Anabaptists, beholding one another 
to fear God and work righteousness, do with delight sit down together 
at the same table of the Lord".^ And the worthy John Callender, 
writing a few years later,^ said that the colony had ' ' proved that the 
terrible fears that barbarity would break in where no particular forms 
of worship and discipline are established by the civil powers, are really 
vain and groundless". All faiths indeed, whether Protestant or 
Catholic,^ Mohammedan or Pagan, were permitted to w^orship as they 
saw fit. The triumph of toleration in religion had certainly been 
achieved, 

'Mather's two utterances are in his Magnalia, bk. vii, p. 20, and in 1 Mass. 
Hist. Soc. Coll., i, 105. 

-Hist. Discourse, p. 108. 

^A clause in the Digest of 1719 debarring Roman Catholics from all political 
rights and asserted to have been passed in 1664, has often been held up as 



CHAPTER XII. 
THE PERIOD OF PAPER MONEY AND FOREIGN WARS. 

In 1727, the very year of the accession of George II to the English 
throne, Deputy-Governor Joseph Jenckes was chosen to succeed 
Cranston as Governor of Rhode Island, One of the first cares of his 
short administration, now that Rhode Island knew just how far her 
mainland extended, was to give to the recently added inhabitants a 
more ready access to the courts. To accomplish this, in June, 1729, 
the colony was divided into three counties. The Island of Rhode 
Island, with Jamestown, New Shoreham and other adjacent islands, 
were formed into Newport County, with Newport as the county town ; 
Providence, "Warwick, and East Greenwich were constituted as Provi- 
dence County, with Providence as shire town ; South and North Kings- 
town and Westerly were made into the third county, known as King's 
County, with South Kingstown as the chief town. The judicial system 
was then revised by providing for justices for each county, which, 
furthermore, was to have its own court house and jail.^ 

This reconstruction of the courts was also made necessary by the 
increase in population. In 1730 a census, taken by order of the Board 
of Trade, showed that the population of the colony had increased to 
17,935, of which 1,648 were negroes and 985 were Indians. Newport 
led with a total of 4,640, then came Providence with 3,916, North 
Kingstown with 2,105, Westerly with 1,926, South Kingstown with 
1,523, East Greenwich with 1,223, Warwick with 1,178, Portsmouth 

exposing the founders of Rhode Island to the charge of inconsistency in hav- 
ing planted liberty of conscience. Samuel Eddy, however, clearly showed in 
1819 that this clause must have been introduced into the laws after 1688, and 
that its probable object was solely to win favor in England in the reign of 
William and Anne. (Walsh's Appeal, 428-435.) S. S. Rider, in a comprehen- 
sive monograph on the subject (Rider's Hist. Tract, 2nd ser. no. 1), goes more 
thoroughly into the matter and shows that the clause could not have been in- 
troduced prior to 1705, as it does not appear in the unprinted digest of that 
year. He further explains how this law was inserted into the 1719 Digest by 
the committee appointed to prepare it, and was made necessary by the severe 
English enactments against Roman Catholics. See also Arnold, ii, 491. 
'R. I. C. R., iv, 427; 1730 Digest, 188-192. 



The Period of Paper Money and Foreign Wars. 177 

with 818, Jamestown with 312, and New Shorehani with 290. A study 
of these figures discloses the fact that, since the preceding census, the 
towns in Narragansett country' had experienced remarkable growth, 
undoubtedly due to the recent settled state of that territory, and that 
the small settlements of Portsmouth, Jamestown and New Shoreham 
had scarcely gained at all. Of the 1,648 colored slaves, over three- 
({uarters were owned on the island and in the Narragansett country, 
Newport having 649 and the two Kingstowns 498. The Indians were 
settled nearly all in the southwestern corner of the colony. Other 
figures gathered at the time show that there were 5,000 tons of ship- 
ping and 400 sailors, that the value of the annual exports was com- 
puted at £10,000, and that the ordinary yearly expenses of the govern- 
ment were estimated at £2,000, and the extraordinary at £2,500, 
colonial currency.^ 

The colony was indeed in a flourishing condition. There was as 
yet little luxury or display of wealth, but the inhabitants were 
intelligent and educated, and the better part of them had some fair 
degree of culture. There was great lack, however, of a literary centre, 
like the colleges at Cambridge and New Haven, or of a concerted effort 
towards a spread of liberal knowledge. Newport may be said to have 
experienced an intellectual awakening in the wdnter of 1729-30, w^hen 
George Berkeley, Dean of Derry, afterwards Bishop of Cloyne and 
one of the greatest philosophers of the century, decided to visit Rhode , 
Island's shores with the idea of founding a missionary college at 
Bermuda. He first visited Newport to purchase land as an invest- 
ment, and also, as his biographer suggests, to establish correspondence 
with influential New Englanders. With him were several literary 
men and artists, among whom were Smibert, the famous portrait 
painter, and Peter Harrison, a prominent architect. Berkeley's first 
impressions of Newport were very favorable. He says in a letter to 
a friend : " ' The inhabitants are of a mixed kind consisting of many 
sorts and subdivisions of sects. There are four sorts of Anabaptists, 
besides Presbyterians, Quakers, Independents and many of no profes- 
sion at all. Notwithstanding so many differences here are fewer quar- 
rels about religion than elsewhere, the people living peaceably with 
their neighbors of whatever profession. The climate is like that of 
Italy and not at all colder in winter than I have known it everywhere 
north of Rome. The town of Newport contains about 6,000 souls and 
is the most thriving, flourishing place in all America for its bigness. 

'Callender's Hist. Discourse in R. I. H. S. Coll., iv, 94, and Arnold, ii, 106. 



178 State of Rhode Island and Providence PlxVntations. 

It is very pretty and pleasantly situated. I was never more agree- 
ably surprised than at the sight of the town and its harbor".^ 

Berkeley lengthened his stay in Newport to nearly three years, 
purchasing a farm in Middletown and spending his spare hours 




Whitehall, the Residence of Bishop Berkeley in Middletown. 

Erected bj' him about 1730, and named after the residence of the early archbishops of England 

writing philosophy. Soon after his arrival he aided in establishing 
a literary and philosophical society, whose collection of books a few 
years later formed the nucleus of the Redwood Library. In 1731, 
di.sappointed in the hopes of founding his Bermuda college, Bishop 
Berkeley left for England, leaving behind him a stimulus for literary 
and intellectual pursuits, a legacy which the colony could not too 
highly value.^' 

From this favorable view of the colony, as presented by Bishop 
Berkeley, and from the rather romantic period of his stay we must now 
turn, in contrast, to the evils that were rapidly arising from the issuing 
of paper money. When the time came for the expiration of the 
"banks", the government found it necessary to extend the payment 
and to create further issues to supply a currency. Thus, in May, 
1728, they again lengthened the time of payment on the first bank of 

^Fraser's Works of Berkeley, iv, 160. Berkeley later modified these favor- 
able views concerning Rhode Island religion, but with especial reference to the 
more recently settled towns. (See Fraser, iii, 242.) 

-The best accounts of Berkeley's stay in Rhode Island are in Fraser's Life. 
iv, 154-190, and in C. R. Thurston's "Bishop Berkeley in New England" in 
N. E. Mag., n. s. xxi, 65-82. See also Winsor, Narr. rf Crit. Hist., v, 141. 



i 



The Period of Paper Money and Foreign Wars. 179 

1715, one-tenth to be paid annually without interest from the date of 
passing the act. In the following month, giving as reasons the scarcity 
of money, the rebuilding of the colony fort and the preservation of 
commerce, the assembly issued a third bank to the amount of £40,000. 
In June, 1731, there arose a movement for the issue of another bank. 
Several of the merchants of Newport, realizing the dangers of 
depreciation and bankruptcy, presented a memorial to the assembly 
in Avhich they attempted to show why the issue should not be made. 
They stated that the excessive emitting of bills of credit during the 
past few years had caused the value of silver coin to increase nearly 
three-fold as a medium of exchange. A few more years, and silver, 
and hence all means of redemption, would be driven from the colony. 
They further asserted that such action was in opposition to the royal 
act of 1720, which forbade the issuing of bills of credit unless con- 
firmed by the King's consent, and to the King's instructions to 
Massachusetts ordering, that that province should not have out in bills 
more than £30,000 at one time. The outstanding bills of Rhode Island, 
the memorialists stated, amounted to £120,000, which, on account of 
the depreciation and the postponement of payment, stood little pros- 
pect of redemption. The memorial was doubtless favored by most of 
the merchants and traders of the colony, and also by the more disin- 
terested and intelligent members of the connnunity. The advocates 
of these large emissions, says an authority on the subject, "were the 
multitude who were indebted and distressed in pecuniary affairs and 
who thus expected to obtain for themselves some measure of relief. It 
was an easy way of paying old debts. Members of the general assem- 
bly were often inclined to favor the project, not only from the desire 
of popularity, but the less honorable motive of pecuniary interest".^ 

The assembly refused to listen to the advice and warning of the 
memorialists, and at the June session, in 1731, passed an act emitting 
£60,000. This occasioned great protest, and Governor Jenckes, at the 
risk of losing his popularity, vetoed the act in these words: "His 
Honor the (iovernor dissents from the said vote." The Governor was 
besought to summon the assembly to take action on these matters. 
Upon his refusal Deputy-Governor Wanton convoked the assembly, 
which met on August 3, and declared the governor's veto "to be no 
part of said act of assembly; and that said act be in no wise encum- 
bered thereby, but that the said dissent be deemed null and void". 
In giving their reasons for this vote they did not enter at all into the 
j question of principle, but based their whole argument on the score 

'Potter's Account of Bills of Credit in Rider's Hist. Tract, viii, 33. 



180 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of technicality. They said that the veto had been entered on the 
records the day after the rising of the assembly, and before then, that 
that body had no knowledge of any dissent. It was argned that it was 
not in the power of the legislative anthority for any single member to 
encumber any act by dissenting after the rising of the court. Thus 
having censured the governor's act they found another ground of 
complaint against him. Several of the inhabitants had requested 
from the secretary a copy of the assembly's original act, which that 
officer drew up and sent to the Grovernor to receive the colony seal. 
Immediately two of the assistants caused the news to be spread 
throughout the colony that the Governor had endangered the loss 
of the charter by ordering the colony seal to be set to a complaint 
against the government. These actions resulted in the sending of 
various letters and memorials to the King. Some of the Newport 
merchants gave an account of the over-issue of paper money and 
petitioned that His Majesty would command "this government not 
to emit any more bills of public credit : and that the bills "of credit 
already emmitted be paid in according to the several respective acts 
whereby they were first emitted, that thereby an end may be put to 
our sorrows, and the tranquillity of this your Majesty's colony re- 
established as in former times". Governor Jenckes, who had incurred 
considerable displeasure, asked, for his vindication, that the royal 
determination should be given upon the three following particulars: 

"First, whether any act passed by the General Assembly of this 
colony may be judged valid, the governor having entered his dissent 
from it at the time it was voted. 

"Second, whether or no the governor of this colony may wath 
safety refuse or disallow setting the colony seal to copies taken out of 
the secretary's office, and attested by him, in order to be sent to Your 
Majesty. 

"Third, whether it be the governor's duty to examine all such copies 
before he orders the colony 's seal to be set thereto ; the secretary which 
attests them being an officer under oath."^ 

This application was referred to the law officers of the crown, who 
reported August 5, 1732. As to the last two questions, they confirmed 
the Governor in his action, asserting that it was "the duty of the 
Governor to set the colony's seal to such copies of acts as were attested 
by the secretary in order to be sent to His Majesty; and that the 
examination and attestation of the Secretary are sufficient without 
the personal examination of the governor". In regard to the question 
of the governor's veto power they reported decisively: "In this 

'R. I. C. R., iv, 456-461. The first memorial is dated Aug. 30, 1731, and the 
petition of the Governor Aug. 20. 



The Period of Paper Money and Foreign Wars. 181 

charter, no negative voice is given to the governor, nor any power 
reserved to the croAvn of approving or disapproving the hiws to be 
made in this colony. We are therefore of opinion that though by the 
charter the presence of the governor, or in his absence of the deputy 
governor, is necessary to the legal holding of a general assembly ; yet, 
when he is there, he is a part of the assembly and included by the 
majority ; and consequently that acts passed by the majority of such 
assembly are valid in law, notwithstanding the governor's entering 
his dissent at the time of the passing thereof. ' ' They further rendered 
as their opinion upon the additional question, "whether His Majesty 
hath any power to repeal or make void the above mentioned act of 
assembly, we humbly conceive that no provision being made 
for that purpose the crown hath no discretionary power of repealing 
laws made in this province; but the validity thereof depends upon 
their not being contrary, but as near as may be agreeable to the laws 
of England, regard being had to the nature and constitution of the 
place and the people. Where this condition is observed the law is 
binding; and where it is not, the law is void as not warranted by the 
charter." 

This last decision was of considerable importance to Rhode Island, 
as it continued the fact that the colony, according to the charter, had 
virtually an absolute and unrestricted control of its own legislation. 
Although producing an opinion in Rhode Island's favor, these peti- 
tions inquiring about the right of veto and narrating the assembly's 
troubles were very dangerous to the welfare of the colony. Partridge, 
the London agent, realized this, and strove his best to prevent such 
grievances from being aired before the Board of Trade. He wrote 
that the governor's query concerning his power of veto was "like to 
prove of very ill consequence to the colony", and might not only 
"prejudice the colony in general but even those particular persons 
themselves who joined with the governor in it". He also wrote to 
Deputy-Oovernor Wanton deprecating that such differences should 
arise among the inhabitants who were scarcely "sensible of the valu- 
able privileges which they enjoy above many provinces in our Planta- 
tion". In fact, it was only a few years before that the Privy Council 
had been anxiously incpiiring what rights were reserved to the King in 
the Rhode Island charter, and, as Partridge said, appeals to the King 
to settle such disputes "will be a means of laying ourselves open and 
be attended with ill consequences from such as are no friends to the 
northern colonies ".^ 

^The letters of Partridge, dated in February, 1732, are in Moses Brown 
Papers, xv, 4, and Foster's Coll. of Papers, ii, 147, in R. I. H. S. Library. 



182 State op Rhode Island and PRO^^DENCE Plantations. 

Thus this important controvei^sy resulted in the complete triumph 
of! the paper money party led by the various members of the Wanton 
family. In the May election of 1732 Governor Jenckes was displaced 
by William Wanton, and John AVanton was re-elected Deputy- 
Governor. Secure in its position, the party was now ready to flood 
the colony with further issues. In July, 1733, the assembly ordered 
another bank of their irredeemable paper, this time to the amount of 
£104,000, giving as reasons the need of repairs to the Colony fort, the 
encouragement of fisheries and the construction of a pier at Block 
Island. This issue not only atfected Rhode Island, but also helped to 
depreciate the currency of neighboring colonies, which themselves 
were struggling with the same question. Massachusetts attempted 
to prevent the circulation of Rhode Island's bills in her province, and 
a number of Boston merchants in retaliation issued a private loan of 
£110,000 secured by their joint credit.^ But such action only resulted 
in further depreciating the currency of both colonies. 

The Wanton influence still presided over the paper money party. 
When Governor William Wanton died in office, he was succeeded in 
the election of 1734 by his brother John. Gideon Wanton filled the 
important and responsible position of general treasurer. By 1738 the 
"want of a sufficient medium of exchange" necessitated the issue of 
the "sixth bank", with the familiar excuses of promotion of trade, 
encouragement of manufactures, and colony repairs. The framers 
of this act egotistically imagined that the creation of this loan, which 
amounted to £100,000, was to benefit the surrounding colonies. "Con- 
necticut carries on but a small trade", says Richard Ward, "and 
stands in need of a very small medium, which, with a quantity of our 
bills passing there, hath rendered it unnecessary for them to make any 
large emissions of bills of credit ; and the province of Massachusetts 
Bay having their hands so tied up that, notwithstanding a great 
number of our bills is circulating among them, the merchants of Boston 
have been forced to emit a round sum of negotiable notes of hand, to 
supply the want of money and prevent business from stagnation". - 
Verily, as the good Doctor MacSparran later remarked, "The Nova 
Anglians in general, the Rhode Islanders in particular, are perhaps the 
only people on earth who have hit on the art of enriching themselves 
by running in debt. ' '^ 

The report of commissioners made in 1739 did not present a very 
cheerful view of the colony's financial condition. They showed that 

'See Felt's Mass. Currency, p. 88, and Palfrey, iv, 549. 
-Rider's Hist. Tract, viii, 153. 
'Updike's Narragansett Church, p. 515. 



The Period of Paper Money and Foreign Wars. 1 83 

up to October, 1739, there had been issued for the supply of the 
treasury about £114,000 in bills of credit, of which over £11,000 were 
still outstanding. This deficit was but of small consequence when 
compared with the outstanding amount of the six public loans or 
banks. By this method £384,000 had been emitted, of which probably 
only a small amount had been repaid by the borrowers. If the popula- 
tion of the colony at the time was 20,000, the public debt would be 
about £15 per capita.^ But we must leave this subject of paper money 
for a short time to take up other important matters that were rapidly 
engaging' the closest attention of the colony. When the subject again 
arises for discussion, it will be found that foreign wars, English inter- 
ference and the adoption of a specie system by other governments will 
have so affected Rhode Island's policy as to subject her name to 
ignominy both at home and abroad. 

One of the most significant facts in connection with the later history 
of the colony was the restriction which the English authorities at- 
tempted to place upon New England trade. Early in the century, 
Newport, in common with the other large commercial towns, learned 
the profit of importing from the West Indies sugar and molasses, and 
of distilling the latter into rum. The London merchants, always eager 
to suppress any manufacturing enterprise that interfered with their 
own markets, sought to embarrass this trade by various restrictive 
acts. They used their influence so well that in 1733 an act was passed, 
known as the "Molasses Act", laying a heavy duty on West India 
products imported from foreign islands into the northern colonies. 
Partridge, the Rhode Island agent, led in opposing this act. As he 
wrote home to Rhode Island, "The West India gentlemen are not quiet 
yet, but as we expected have begun again in the House of Commons, 
who have already ordered a bill to be brought in for the better securing 
and encouraging the trade of the sugar colonies. In the present bill 
they have left out the restriction of sending horses and lumber to the 
foreign Plantations, but we think in a manner this is as bad as the old 
bill; for to what purpose will it be to have liberty to send away our 
commodities, if we cannot have returns for them ? "- In his petition 
to the Board of Trade he claimed that the bill deprived the colonies of 
their rights as Englishmen in laying taxes against their consent and 
without their being represented in Parliament. As Arnold says, 
"This war cry of revolution, which was ere long to rally the American 
colonies in the struggle for independence, was here first sounded by 

'Rider's Hist. Tract, viii, 51, 175. 

-Letter to Wanton, Feb. 4, 1732, in Foster MS. Coll. R. I. Hist., ii, 149, in 
R. I. H. S. Library. 



184 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the Quaker agent of Rhode Island, to cease only with the dismember- 
ment of the British empire".^ 

The act, however, was passed, and although it seems to have affected 
Newport less than her rival, Boston, it prevented the distilling of 
molasses into rum from becoming, as it had promised, the most im- 
portant colonial manufacture. In 1739, when it was learned that 
further restrictions on colonial commerce were intended, the Rhode 
Island assembly voted that the Governor should write to the London 
agent to oppose strenuously the making of any addition to the sugar 
or molasses act, "that so much affects the northern Plantations"; and 
also that his Honor should ask the neighboring governments to join 
in opposing such legislation. The colony showed its jealousy of royal 
interference in other ways than in those relating to restrictions upon 
commerce. When one Leonard Lockman, in 1743, produced a com- 
mission as naval officer, said to have been granted by royal authority, 
the assembly decided that "his Majesty was mistaken in said grant", 
since the office of naval officer had always been under the appointment 
of the Governor. They further drew up in the same year a table of 
fees for the English court of vice-admiralty, asserting the undoubted 
right of the general assembly to state the fees of all officers and courts 
within the colony.' 

Colonial watchfulness for what was regarded as an infringement of 
rights, was temporarily obliterated by the patriotic spirit caused by 
a foreign war. England, jealous of the commercial power of Spain 
and offended by her pretensions of supremacy, declared war upon that 
country in October, 1739. The news of a break in the long peace was 
quickly sent to the colonies. The Rhode Island assembly immediately 
met in February, 1740, and made necessary preparations in case of 
invasion by the enemy. Fort George was garrisoned, Block Island 
was provided wdth a company of soldiers, watch towers and beacons 
were erected, and a large sloop built expressly for the use of the 
colony. In May, in obedience to the King's orders, steps were taken 
towards the enlistment of soldiers for the expedition under Admiral 
Vernon against the Spanish West Indies, and two companies of one 
hundred men each w^ere soon transported to New York to join the 
grand squadron at Jamaica. They were among the one thousand New 
England volunteers who aided in the disastrous attack upon Car- 
thagena in March, 1741, and of whom scarcely one hundred ever 
returned to their native colonies. Although Rhode Island assisted in 
the abortive expedition upon Santiago a few months later, it was in 

'Arnold, ii, 124. 

""Digest of 11',.',, p. 268, Arnold, ii, 142. 



The Period of Paper ]\Ioney and Foreign Wars. 185 

the field of privateering that her services were chiefly used for the 
remainder of the war. The habitual daring and boldness of her 
inhabitants and her peculiar ability to make her power felt wherever 
individuality was a potent factor, combined to make the colony 
especially successful in this branch of warfare. Massachusetts, for 
instance, where the individual had always been subordinated to the 
will of the community, was often compelled to oft'er extraordinary 
inducements to make vessels go as privateers. It is told how a Massa- 
chusetts preacher "berated the fisher folk and men of Gloucester so 
that they quaked in their beds when they might be manning their 
vessels and chasing the one French privateer that held the whole coast 
in terror". Sewall. when he paused in one of his Narragansett .jour- 
neys at Bristol, heard of a French privateer in Vineyard Sound, but 
added that the Rhode Island men were after him.^ 

The profits arising from privateering were quite large and benefited 
a greater part of the population than would generally be supposed. 
The Boston News Letter of ]\Iarch 20, 1740, records how Captain Hull 
of Newport took a prize of so great value that each man's share was 
more than 1,000 pieces of eight. And a few weeks later it stated that 
Hull's exploits were so extraordinary that his owners designed "to 
have his statue finely cut out of a block of marble, to stand upon a 
handsome pedestal, with each foot upon a Spaniard's neck".- 

But the operations of the Spanish war were soon overshadowed by 
the approach of a greater struggle, occasioned by France espousing 
the cause of Spain and declaring war upon England. In JNIarch, 1744. 
Parliament immediately proclaimed war with France and instructed 
the colonies to make ready for the contest. Again did Rhode Island 
make the necessary preparations, spending the two sessions of May 
and June in providing iov the defence of the colony and in obtaining 
munitions of war. When the news came of the scheme for the reduc- 
tion of Louisburg, the assembly voted to equip the colony sloop Tartar 
with 130 men, to provide a land force of 150 men, and to raise a 
regiment of 350 men to be under the pay of Massachusetts. This 
expedition, forwarded with great zeal by Governor Shirley of Massa- 
chusetts, and commanded by William Pepperell of IMaine, was wonder- 

'Weeden, Evon. and Soc. Hist, of N. E. ii, 601. 

■Idem. p. 602. These privateering expeditions, however, were not always 
so successful. In December, 1745, two large ships, with over 400 men, sailed 
from Newport for the Spanish Main. A tremendous hurricane ensuing, they 
undoubtedly succumbed to disaster, for they were never heard from again. 
Such catastrophes as this or the almost total loss of 200 Rhode Island troops 
at Carthagena in 1741 would account for the sudden and unexplained removal 
of many an ancestor at this specific period. 



186 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

fully successful. In June, 1745, Louisburg surrendered, thus com- 
pleting the most important achievement of the war. One-half of the 
Rhode Island troops unfortunately arrived too late to aid in the attack, 
but remained among those who held the garrison until relieved by 
regular English troops. On the sea, however, the colony showed her 
especial pre-eminence. Captain Fones, with a small fleet, dispersed 
a body of several hundred French and Indians sailing to the relief of 
Louisburg; and Rhode Island privateers captured more than twenty 
prizes during the year. These various services, together with her 
furnishings of transports and supplies, caused the home government 
to grant her £6,322 as her part of the subsequent indemnity to the 
colonies.^ 

Throughout the remainder of the war Rhode Island took her 
proportionate share with the other New England colonies. She 
entered actively into the abortive scheme, in the summer of 1746, for 
the invasion of Canada, which was defeated by the threatened arrival 
of a French fleet and the dilatory policy of the English ministry.^ 
Although praised for the "ready spirit which both the government 
and the troops had shown", the colony agreed with Connecticut in 
refusing to enter into Shirley's rashly planned expedition upon Crown 
Point. But the war was rapidly drawing to a close, both England 
and France wearying of the martial activity and dragging expenses. 
There was a cessation of attacks and campaigns, and Rhode Island 
used the time to good advantage in her favorite pursuit of privateer- 
ing. One of the most daring commanders, Capt. John Dennis, was so 
particularly successful that the French at IMartinique sent out a 
well-equipped war vessel especially to capture him. One may easily 
imagine that his would-be captors were surprised, when after an action 
of four hours they were compelled to surrender and be taken as a 
prize by this redoubtable Rhode Islander. The papers of the day 
have frequent reference to similar captures. Indeed, it would be 
safe to say that surely one hundred French vessels, some with cargoes 
worth over $50,000, Avere taken by Rhode Island privateers during the 
war.-^ But on October 7, 1^8, the struggle between the two nations 

7 

'The documentary reference to most of the above facts is in R. I. C. R., v, 
106-127. The details of Rhode Island's share in the indemnity is given in foot- 
notes in Arnold, ii, 170-171; and her part in naval operations is best narrated 
in Sheffield's Privateers, p. 11-23. The fullest documentary history of the war 
is in Winsor's Narr. and Crit. Hist. \, 434-449. 

=In the Rice Papers, p. 20, in the R. I. H. S. Library, is a journal of this 
expedition written by Capt. William Rice, from May 26 to Dec. 25, 1746. There 
are also several rolls of Melvin's and Chenery's Massachusetts companies, 
1746-47, in R. I. H. 8. MSS., vol. 1. 

^Sheffield in his Privateer smen of Newport, p. 48, found reference to nearly 



The Period of Paper Money and Foreign Wars. 1 87 

Avas finally concluded by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, by the terms 
of which each side agreed to restore all territory as it had been before 
the war. Thus the stronghold of Louisburg, which had been won by 
the colonists themselves, at their own risk and for their own security, 
reverted to their enemy, the French. It has been said that the British 
ministry restored this fortress to France that it might remain as a 
menace to possible colonial independence, but they were also surely 
aware of its usefulness to England herself as a means of overawing 
the colonists. Shirley reminded them of this fact and remarked that 
"it would by its vicinity to the British colonies and being the key 
of 'em, give the Crown of Great Britain a most absolute hold and com- 
mand of 'em if ever there should come a time when they should grow 
restive and disposed to shake oft' their dependency upon their mother 
country, which", he added, "seems to me some centuries further off 
than it does to some gentlemen at home".^ At all events, however 
discouraging the results of the treaty were to the New England 
colonists, it gave them a knowledge of their own power. The lesson 
that untrained provincials could defeat the well-equipped European 
troops was not forgotten when the time came for the more momentous 
struggle. 

During all this period of war, Rhode Island had met her heavy 
expenses by further issues of paper money. The English government, 
however, was beginning to realize to what an extent the colonies had 
gone in this direction, and in August, 1740, warned Rhode Island that 
instructions had been sent to the colonies more subject to the home 
rule, not to enact further issues of paper money unless they were 
approved by the King. Parliament was much apprehensive, the com- 
munication stated, that "the commerce of Great Britain had been 
affected by the large and frequent emissions of paper currency, in 
which Rhode Island has had too large a share". Orders were also 
given that Rhode Island should prepare a complete account of previous 
issues, amounts then outstanding, value of such paper in English coin, 
and possibility of sinking all the bills." Although thus advised as to 
the King's wishes, the assembly decided that the expenses of the war 
necessitated more bills, and in September, 1740, issued a seventh 
"bank" of £20,000, to be loaned at four per cent, for ten years and 
to be equivalent to silver at six shillings nine pence per ounce. Since 
the attempt w^as thus made for the first time to fix their value in 

seventy captures between 1741-1748. The above account of Captain Dennis is 
quoted from the Boston Post Boy in the same monograph, p. 24. 

'Quoted in Palfrey, v, 93. 

"'R. I. C. R. V, 7. 



188 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

specie, these bills were styled "New Tenor Bills". In addition to 
this public loan, an issue of £10,000 of the old tenor bills was made to 
supply the treasury, but this high-handed act was not favored by all 
the members of the assembly. Two of the assistants and five deputies 
entered protests on the records and gave substantial reasons why the 
issue was injurious. It would depreciate what was already out, they 
said, thus defrauding creditors of their just dues, encouraging idleness 
and extortion, and providing in the end a really less medium of ex- 
change. All extraordinary expenses of the war could easily be paid 
out of the interest from the previous "banks", and could not anyway 
be met by the present bank, which would not mature interest in two 
years. The act, furthermore, was undutiful and presumptuous in 
view of the expressed attitude of Parliament upon the subject. The 
signers thus conclude their protest to the said act, asserting their 
opposition, "because the ruin of this flourishing colony will probably 
in a great measure be owing to this fatal act ; we would have the whole 
colony and posterity know we have not deserved their imprecations 
on this occasion, but have endeavored to preserve and deliver down to 
posterity the privileges and the property which our ancestors earned 
with so much hazard, toil and expense".^ 

In January, 1741, Richard Ward, who had succeeded as Governor 
upon the death of Wanton in 1740, prepared the report upon bills of 
credit required by the Board of Trade. It was a lengthy document, 
going thoroughly into the reasons for each issue, giving the current 
comparative value of English coin and concluding that the present 
"flourishing condition" of the colony was entirely due to paper 
money. It reveals the information that the outstanding amount of 
bills was £340,000, or, reduced to sterling money, £88,000, and blames 
the depreciation chiefly upon the Boston merchants. Having thus 
vindicated themselves before the English authorities, the paper money 
party proceeded to carry out its policy as it saw flt. In February, 
1744, came another public loan, the eighth "bank", this time of 
£40,000. This caused two protests to be entered by members of the 
assembly, both very similar in tone to the protests against the previous 
"bank". 

Such large issues, exactly as the signers of the protest had predicted, 
only resulted in depreciating all previous issues. The bank of 1740 
had already depreciated to one-fourth of its original value, and by 
1748 the present bank of 1748 was worth in specie exchange about one 
as to ten. Depreciation was not the only evil arising from this 
worthless currency. The non-payment of interest and the continual 

'For the act itself see the Digest of 11',.',. p. 230. See also R. I. C. R. iv, 580. 



The Period op Paper INIoney and Foreign Wars. 189 

counterfeitino; made the general treasurer's lot no happy one. The 
difficulty of collecting the banks as they came due caused the frequent 
foreclosing of mortgages and bonds.^ The property qualification for 
freemen had to be raised in 1746 from £200 to £400, since the rapid 
depreciation of the currency had so cheapened the elective franchise 
that persons of very little estate Avere admitted as freemen. The ease 
with which voters could be obtained brought the assembly to fear 
"that bribery and corruption hath spread itself in this government, to 
the great scandal thereof, so that the election of public officers hath 
been greatly influenced thereby".' 

The currency question had become the controlling factor in party 
contests, giving occasion for much political vehemence and personal 
abuse. The learned Dr. William Douglass, writing in 1750, thus 
alludes to conditions in Rhode Island: "Formerly the parties in 
elections and public transactions were upon sectary footings ; but 
for some years past, the opposite parties are they who are against 
multiplying a fraudulent paper currency, and they who encourage 
it for private inicpiitous ends. . . The habitual practice of this paper 
money cheat has had a bad influence, not only upon profligate private 
persons, but also upon the administration of some of our New 
England governments: for instance, one of the legislature, a signer 
of the Rhode Island colony bills, was not long since convicted of signing 
counterfeit bills. Men are chosen into the legislative and executive 
parts of their government, not for their knowledge, honor and honesty, 
but as sticklers for depreciating, for private ends, the currency by 
multiplied emissions. This year, 1750, the parties amongst the electors 
of assemblymen were distinguished by the names of the paper money 
makers and the contrary. . . Massachusetts Bay, where the bulk of 
their bills were lodged, have sent them back accompanied with the 
bills of New Hampshire ; their design is by quantity to depreciate the 
value of their bills, and lands mortgaged for public bills will be re- 
deemed in those minorated bills at a very inconsiderable real value"." 

Rhode Island's reckless management of her financial system, 
whether excusable or not, was sure to receive its retribution in the end. 
When the reimbursement for the war expenses came from England 
in 1749, Massachusetts was able, by the aid of a tax of £3 per capita, 
to sink all her outstanding bills. But Rhode Island, although she 

'In 1741 there were 539 such suits in the six towns of Providence county, 
and in 1742 there were 1,040 more actions instituted in the same towns. 
(Rider's Hist. Tract, viii, 56.) 

-n.j.^ Digest, p. 12. 

^'Douglass, ii, 86. This author, though learned, is not always a reliable 
authority. 



190 State of Ehode Tsiand and Providence Plantations. 

received £12,000 specie from England, used only £7,800 of this amount 
to redeem £89,000 of her great outstanding amount of bills. The 
smaller proportionate indemnity that she received from England, the 
excesses of her previous over-issues, and her present apparent unwill- 
ingness to use all that she could in the right direction, kept her 
from imitating the example of Massachusetts and placing her financial 
system on a so.und specie basis. The immediate results of this inability 
were exhibited in the decline of her business and commerce. Her 
valuable West Indian trade quickly reverted to Massachusetts,^ and 
her currency depreciated to nearly one-half of its specie value. 
Failures and bankruptcy acts were the natural consequences. 

The closing decade of the first half of the eighteenth century was a 
most important period for Rhode Island history. In addition to the 
spectacle of a wasting foreign war and of a ruinous and prostrate 
currency, the colony witnessed the completion of another boundary 
dispute that vitally affected her future growth and prosperity. She 
had settled the northern boundary line with Massachusetts in 1719, 
but the eastern boundary dispute, which resembled the earlier Con- 
necticut controversy in its bitterness and protraction, remained un- 
settled for many years. A brief abstract of the present dispute may 
well be given here. The Plymouth Council, by letters patent of 1629, 
granted to Bradford and his associates territory as far as Narragansett 
River, but this grant conveyed only right of estate and not of juris- 
diction. The first royal grant of the territory was in the Rhode Island 
charter of 1663, when the colony was given land extending "three 
English miles to the east and north-east of the most eastern and north- 
eastern parts of Narragansett Bay". In 1665 the King's Commis- 
sioners had made a temporary order favoring Plymouth, but leaving 
final determination as to right and title to the King. In 1691 
Plymouth was absorbed in the Massachusetts charter, and henceforth 
the dispute was held with the latter government. Rhode Island, 
having attempted in vain to assert her right to the territory, finally 
resolved in 1733 to petition the King for a settlement. She claimed 
two strips of land, first the triangular piece of land in the extreme 
northeastern corner of the colony, called "Attleboro Gore", and 
virtually corresponding with the present town of Cumberland, and 
secondly, the confirmation of the country towards the east according 
to the three mile clause of her charter.- Massachusetts put in a claim 
for all the country as far as Narragansett Bay, based chiefly on the 

'Rider's Hist. Tract, viii, 68. For a more detailed discussion of the indem- 
nity money, see the chapter on Financial History. 

^Douglass, in 1750, stated that "if Massachusetts Bay had quitclaimed to 



The Feriod of Px\per Money and Foreign Wars. 191 

Plymouth grant, which petition the Board of Trade denounced as 
"frivolous and vexatious, preferred only with intent to delay and 
prevent the settling of the boundaries". Finally, upon their advice, 
the privy council directed that the controversy be adjusted by a body 
of commissioners from New York, New Jersey, and Nova Scotia. In 
1741 this commission sat in Providence, and on June 30 decided that 
the Rhode Island eastern line should run from the Massachusetts 
southern boundary by a meridian line to Pawtucket Falls, then south- 
erly along the Seekonk and Providence Rivers to Bullock's Neck, then 
following a line three miles away from the shores of Narragansett Bay 
and the Sakonnet River until it reached the ocean. This gave to 
Rhode Island the ' ' gore ' ' in question, and a strip of land three miles, 
wide from Bullock's Point to the ocean ; but she had claimed almost as 
much again, from a point three miles east-northeast of the Assonet 
Bridge, west to Fox Point and due south to the ocean. Accordingly 
she appealed from this judgment to the King. Massachusetts, no part 
of whose claim had been recognized, also made appeal "from every 
part of it, without specifying anything in particular". In May, 1746, 
after listening to aU the arguments, the privy council ordered that the 
commissioners' award be confirmed. Massachusetts, wholly defeated 
in her claim, refused to aid in surveying the line ; so Rhode Island was 
compelled to run the line ex parte, thus giving rise to minor disputes 
which it required another century to settle.^ 

The territory thus confirmed to Rhode Island amounted to about 
122 square miles, contained over 4,500 inhabitants, and comprised the 
towns of Cumberland, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton, and Little Compton.- 

them Attleboro Gore, Rhode Island would have given a general quitclaim in 
all other concerns^ and prevented the loss of Bristol, and some part of Har- 
rington, Swanzey, Tiverton and Little Compton. But the influence of a few 
ill-natured, obstinate, inconsiderate men prevailed in the legislature to the 
damage of the province of Massachusetts Bay." {Hist, and Polit. Summary, i, 
397.) 

'The voluminous evidence taken by the commissioners in 1741 occupies a 
large volume in the British State Paper Office. A transcript of this, 420 pages, 
is in the J. Carter Brown Library. (J. C. B. Cat. iii, no. 692.) The important 
documents are in R. I. C. R. iv, 586, and v, 199-201, and detailed references are 
in Arnold, ii, 131. See also Douglass, Hist, and Polit. Summary, i, 397-400. 
A map of the disputed territory, according to the survey of 1741, is published 
in Arnold, ii, 132, and a slightly differing original is in the J. 
Carter Brown Library. A poetical journal of this survey is reprinted 
from a rare broadside in the Narr. Hist. Reg. iv, 1, and in Miss Kimball's Pic- 
tures of R. I. in the Past. p. 41. An excellent summary of the controversy up 
to 1742 is in the printed appeal of R. I. for that year (a copy of which, 4 pages 
folio, is in the R. I. H. S. Library. The instrumentality of Sir Charles Wager 
in favoring Rhode Island's claim is pointed out in Sheffield's Privateersmen of 
Newport, p. 11. 

^The early history of these towns properly belongs to a study of Plymouth 



192 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

The first few months in 1747 were spent in organizing the large acces- 
sion to her jurisdiction. The five towns were legally incorporated, 
justices of the peace were appointed, and the inhabitants having the 
necessary qualifications were declared freemen of the colony. For 
judicial purposes Bristol and Warren were joined into one county 
called Bristol County, Tiverton and Little Compton were annexed to 
Newport County, and Cumberland joined to Providence County. 
This increase in population also brought the long needed change in 
the composition of the highest judicial body. Where formerly the 
supreme court consisted of the governor or deputy governor and the 
assistants, in February, 1747, it was enacted that a chief justice and 
four associates should be chosen annually, as the highest court, by the 
general assembly, thus abandoning the unwise union of legislative and 
judicial powers. 

By this annexation of the eastern towns, Rhode Island, for the first 
time in her existence, could deem herself practically complete, accord- 
ing to the terms of her charter. Vexatious boundary disputes were 
no longer to sap her energies and strength, and thus freed from the 
strife for existence, she could turn her attention more vigorously to 
those matters that were rapidly becoming of great importance to the 
American colonies. With a population of 33,000,^ and with a tried 
strength in military operations her aid was henceforth to be considered 
as an important factor in New England's struggles. 

and Massachusetts. See also under the town names in the bibliography at the 
end of the last volume. Cumberland, previously called Rehoboth North Pur- 
chase and Attleboro Gore, embraced about 34 square miles and had 806 inhab- 
itants. Warren, which then included the present Barrington, had an area of 
about 14 square miles and a population of 680. Bristol's area was about 10 
square miles and population 1,069. Tiverton's area was about 43 square miles 
and population 1,040. Little Compton's area was about 21 square miles and 
population 1,152. These population figures are all according to the census of 
1748. 

'These figures are according to the census of 1748, taken by order of the 
Board of Trade. Douglass, Summary, ii, 89, is the printed authority for this 
census, giving a total of 32,773—28,439 whites, 3,077 negroes, and 1,257 In- 
dians. (Also copied in R. I. C. R. v, 270.) These figures differ, however, 
from those obtained by Arnold, Hist, of R. 1. ii, 173, from English records, 
where the total is given as 34,128, with 29,750 whites, and the remainder 
blacks and Indians. 

The growth of population had caused most of the towns to be divided. 
West Greenwich was set off from East Greenwich in 1741, Coventry from 
Warwick in 1741, Exeter from North Kingstown in 1743, Middletown from 
Newport in 1743, and Richmond from Charlesiown in 1747. Providence had 
previously been quartered in 1731 into Providence, Smithfield, Gloucester and 
Scituate. The increase of the number of towns had also made it necessary 
that the proceedings of the assembly, which had always been copied by the 
secretary and sent to each town, should henceforth be printed. The first issue, 
a six page folio printed in Newport, is that for the session of October, 1747. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
THE HOPKINS WARD PERIOD. 

Scarcely had the confirmation of her eastern boundary and the 
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle assured to Rhode Island a probability of 
peace and quiet, when a fierce political struggle and a renewed foreign 
war broke out at almost the same time, as if to make her existence 
one of continual storm and stress. These coming conflicts — the one 
preventing good government or united effort in any cause, and the 
other requiring men and money far beyond her strength — were 
destined to test the resources and recuperative power of the colony to 
the utmost. It was fortunate that the placing of her currency on a 
somewhat sounder basis was brought about before the arrival of these 
trying events. In August, 1750. an attempt was made by the house 
of deputies to obtain another loan of £50,000.^ This aroused a storm 
of protest, and in September, seventy-two inhabitants, including some 
of the most prominent and intelligent men in the colony, wrote a 
petition directly to the King. They told in general terms of the evil 
consequences of this currency— of its depreciation and ruinous effects 
on those who were so unfortunate as to hold large amounts of it— and 
said that the colony had now outstanding £525,335 in bills, £390,000 
of which was upon loan. Yet in spite of the fact that these bills had 
sunk over one-half in seven years, there was a certain class who still 
desired further issues and who even now were attempting to get a 
vote for £50,000 more passed through the assembly. This was the 
landholding class, who, "having generally mortgaged their farms, or 
plantations, as security for the bills of credit they have taken upon 
loan, have found it to their interest to multiply such bills, that they 
may depreciate and lessen in value, and which they have recourse to, 
as a legal expedient of wiping away their debts Mathout labor; 
whereby the laudable spirit of industry is greatly extinguished and 

'Potter's Account in Rider's Hist. Tract, viii, 81, where there is an apparent 
discrepancy in the dates given. The action in August and the petition in Sep- 
tember precede the creation of the ninth bank, which was in March, 1751, not 
1750. 

13-1 



194 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Your Majesty's trading subjects greatly discouraged for want of 
produce and remittances". The petition thus concluded: "Sensible 
of the misfortune and hardships we labor under, we do therefore most 
humbly pray Your IMajesty that the legislature or authority of this 
government, may be prevented and effectually restrained from making 
or emitting any more bills of public credit upon loan without Your 
Majesty's royal permission, and be commanded to stop and recall this 
intended emission of August last from circulating or being offered or 
taken in payment of debt, or from passing any acts whereby any 
extant bills of public credit may be either debased in value or post- 
poned in their period of being drawn in ; and that Your Majesty will 
be graciously pleased to interpose in this matter, in such manner as 
in your royal wisdom shall seem meet to relieve us from the injury and 
oppression of a flood of fluctuating, sinking paper bills of public 
credit".^ 

It was a dangerous precedent, this of carrying grievances directly 
to the King. But it may have seemed necessary to these petitioners, 
oppressed as they were by an assembly which had already obstinately 
refused to listen to their protest. The House of Commons took action 
upon the petition in JMarch, 1751. Being legally unable to interfere 
with Rhode Island in the exercise of her charter rights, they got 
around this difficulty by basing their law chiefly upon the evil effects 
of the currency upon the other colonies. They stated that ' ' the great 
rise in the value of silver and in the exchange, occasioned by the 
repeated emissions of bills of credit, particularly in Rhode Island, had 
been the means of defrauding the creditors in all the four governments 
of a great part of their property, and by introducing confusion into 
dealings had proved a great discouragement to the trade of these 
kingdoms". They decided that the introduction of bills of credit is- 
sued in one colony into the other three colonies whereby the "creditors 
of all the four colonies were defrauded", could be prevented only by 
act of Parliament, and therefore resolved that this currency should be 
"regulated and restrained", and that a bill should be prepared for the 
purpose. Such a bill was finally brought in and passed, whereby the 
issue of paper money by the colonial government subsequently to 
September 1, 1751, was absolutely prohibited. It also forbade the 
passing of any laws postponing the time of payment of bills already 
issued. The colony might, however, with the King's consent, issue 
bills of credit to meet current expenses or in case of extraordinary 

'R. I. C. R. V, 312. For further protest, Oct. 10, 1750, see Newport MS. 
Town Rec. 1679-1776, p. 466-476. 



The Hopkins- Ward Period. 195 

emergeucies, provided reasonable provision for their redemption was 
made.^ 

The assembly, shortly before the action of Parliament, passed an act 
emitting a loan of £25,000, called the ninth "bank", giving as its chief 
purpose "the promoting of the raising of flax and wool", and enacting 
severe laws to insure its reception.- This loan was issued just in time, 
for a few weeks later came the news and the documents of the Parlia- 
mentary act. This important matter quickly engaged the attention 
of the Jiuie assembly. They appointed two committees, one to 
inquire into the station and circumstances of the late petitioners who 
"call themselves inhabitants of this colony", and the other to report 
upon the facts stated in the petition itself. This latter committee, 
which included such upright men as Nicholas Cooke and Stephen 
Hopkins, quickly reported that although they did not believe that the 
figures of depreciation and of outstanding bills were exactly correct, 
they could not but admit that the other facts asserted in the petition 
were strictly true. This opinion, in view of the various animadver- 
sions upon the evils of paper currency contained in the petition, must 
have been considerable of a rebuff to the "bank loan" party. Never- 
theless the assembly voted to accept the report, thus denouncing their 
own previous action, and evidently decided to yield to Parliament's 
demands. 

The assembly had at last come to its senses and concluded that the 
unnecessary flooding of the colony with great issues of paper money 
was detrimental to the colony's interest. The more intelligent portion 
of the community had already frowned upon such over-issues, but they 
were compelled to invoke royal intercession before any change could 
be brought about. The bank of 1751, therefore, was the last loan 
emitted while Rhode Island remained a dependency of the British 
crown. Bills of credit for necessary expenses of government or for 
emergencies were occasionally issued, but seldom of large amount until 
the Revolution. Rhode Island had been checked in her reckless course 
towards financial ruin. Those who had long been oppressed by the 
debased currency could scarcely believe that any power could restrain 

i 'Eng. Stat. 2.'ith yr., Geo. II. 1151, ch. 53; Rider's Hist. Tracts, viii, 84-88; 
land the reprint of the documents on the subject which was ordered to be pub- 
lished by the general assembly, a copy of which is in the R. I. H. S. Library. 
The act itself was not passed until May, 1751. Partridge opposed its passage 
and secured certain amendments, which, he said, "took the sting out of it". 
(See his letter of May 17, 1751, in "Letters 1750-1756" in secretary of state's 
office.) 

=This act is in the printed schedule for March, 1751, p. 77. The clause 
relating to wool bounties, the alleged reason for the act, was repealed in the 
following June session. 



196 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the Rhode Island assembly. The good Doctor MacSparran, presiding 
over his flock in Narragansett, referred to Parliament's acts of re- 
straint and despairingly said, "Such things are only hruta fulmina; 
and we shall go on, I doubt, in our old way of paper emissions unless 
the Lord, in mercy to us, should dispose the sovereign power to vacate 
our patent, and prevent our destruction by taking us out of our own 
hands". But the forebodings of the worthy Doctor fortunately did 
not come out as he expected. Rhode Island did partially revoke her 
paper money policy, and the charter was preserved. 

Scarcely had Rhode Island received these important communications 
concerning her paper currency when the alarm of war was again 
sounded, this time to subject the colony to a longer and fiercer struggle 
than it had yet experienced. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle had not 
settled any definite line between the English and French possessions 
in the New World, and as the frontier settlements gradually drew 
nearer to each other, a collision between the two races became inevit^ 
able. When Washington, then a young Virginian surveyor, attacked 
Fort Duquesne in April, 1754, the war may be said to have commenced. 
Both England and France, rivals on sea as well as land, were only too | 
willing to take up the contest and quickly assumed a mutually hostile ^ 
attitude. The fourth intercolonial war, known in the colonies as thej 
"Old French War", and in Europe as the Seven Years' War, since 
formal declaration was not made until 1756, had begun. "The firing 
of a gun in the woods of North America brought on a conflict whicl 
drenched Europe in blood". 

The Lords of Trade, foreseeing a general war, had directed that the 
colonies should send commissioners to a Congress at Albany, where 
concerted action could be taken against the French and Indians. 
Rhode Island appointed Stephen Hopkins and Martin Howard, who 
joined the other delegates at Albany in June, 1754. This body, com- 
posed of the most able and representative men in America, renewed 
the treaty with the Indians, adopted the unanimous resolution that a 
"union of all the colonies is at present absolutely necessary for their 
security and defence", and after three weeks' deliberation proposed a 
plan of union. Benjamin Franklin had not come to the Congress 
unprepared. He knew as well as any one that a plan of uniting the 
colonies, threatening the rights of individual governments, was liable 
to be received with little favor, but he hoped that the advantages of 
such a union and the pressure of a general war would induce the 
colonists to accept the scheme. The delegates, perhaps more broad- 
minded and far-seeing than their constituencies, received it favorably. 



The Hopkins- Ward Period. 197 

When it came to be voted upon by the various assemblies, however, it 
met with a different fate. The colonists feared the clause requiring 
that the union should be established by an act of Parliament, and 
looked with distrust at the proposals of a "President-General" ap- 
pointed by the Crown, a "Grand Council" and a general treasury. 
Not a single colony voted to accept the plan.^ 

The report of the Rhode Island delegates was presented to the 
assembly in August, 1754. This body voted to accept the report, but 
"reserved to themselves a farther consideration whether they would 
accede to the general plan proposed". They took no further action 
at the time, but in March, 1755, showed their position upon the matter 
by directing the Governor to write to the London agent telling him 
"to be upon his watch, and if anything shall be moved in Parliament 
respecting the plan for a union of His Majesty's northern colonies, 
projected at Albany, which may have a tendency to infringe on our 
charter privileges, that he use his utmost endeavors to get it put off 
until such time as the government is furnished with a copy and have 
opportunity of making answers thereunto ".- 

The upper house of the assembly, however, had passed a resolution 
finding the said plan "to be a scheme which, if carried into executioa, 
will virtually deprive this government, at least, of some of its most 
valuable privileges, if not effectively overturn and destroy our present 
happy Constitution"." Of all the colonies Rhode Island was perhaps 
the most liable to regard the plan with suspicion and disfavor. Being 
one of the two charter colonies left in America, she had no intention 
of allowing the royal authority to deprive her of any of the rights 
which she had so tenaciously preserved. As a strictly commercial 
community, she imagined that she foresaw in such a union only f urthev 
restrictions upon her trade. Accustomed as she had been to a certain 
isolation, she came to consider it as part of her policy to persist in a 
spirit— call it "narrow and illiberal", or "independent and prudent" 
—which she adhered to until the end. There was little necessity, how- 
ever, for her to be apprehensive of England's interference at the 
present juncture. The Lords of Trade suddenly found that the plan 

'The plan as finally amended is printed in Sparks's ed. of Franklin's Works, 
i, 36, and elsewhere. The original certified copy of the proceedings of the 
Congress, sent to Rhode Island, is in the secretary of state's office, and is also 
noted in the John Carter Brown Catalogue, iii, no. 1067. The part taken by 
Hopkins in the Congress is well portrayed in Foster's Hopkins in R. I. Hist. 
Tract, xix, pt. 1, eh. 6. 

^R. I. C. R., V, 424. 

^R. I. Hist. Tract, ix. 61. 



198 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of union that they themselves had recommended promised too strong 
an organization, and accordingly neither approved of it nor recom- 
mended it to the King. As Franklin said, ' ' The assemblies all thought 
there was too much prerogative, and in England it was thought to 
have too much of the democratic." 

Soon after the Albany Congress active military operations were 
taken by both sides. The war comprehended the conquest of Canada 
and the reduction of the French in the great valleys of the St. Law- 
rence and the Ohio. The Rhode Island assembly, upon receipt of 
orders from Whitehall, convened, and for the first three sessions in 
1755 occupied themselves with military preparations. The old routine 
of regulating the militia, manning the forts, replenishing military 
stores, organizing independent companies, and enlisting volunteers, 
was again gone through with. Four hundred men were voted for the 
expedition against Crown Point, and £60,000 of bills of credit, redeem- 
able within two years, were issued to meet these sudden expenses. 

In the meanwhile General Braddock, supported by British regulars 
and southern provincials, had been defeated at Fort Duquesne in 
July, 1755. The news of this disaster only inspired the colonists to 
further effort in the Crown Point expedition. Rhode Island imme- 
diately voted 150 extra men and hurried them to Albany. Although 
some of the assembly thought this action unwise, since the colony had 
already exceeded her quota, the colony was heart and soul in the 
project. The towns were officially aiding in the cause, and even the 
ministers were exhorting their congregations to war. Thomas Pollen 
in a stirring sermon, preached in May, 1755, upon the embarkation of 
some of the troops, thus concludes his appeal: "Go fight for your 
country, your liberty, your property, and your religion. Transmit to 
your posterity, that public safety and happiness which Providence 
shall entrust to the conduct of your arms. And may the ark of the 
Lord ever go before you. May his pillars of a cloud by day and of a 
fire by night protect and guide you in your marches. And may the 
conquest ye shall gain over your enemies be rewarded with honor here 
and with a crown of glory hereafter." Jonathan Ellis at Little 
Compton and Joseph Fish at Westerly preached to their respective 
congregations on the justice of the war and prayed for the success of 
the armies. William Vinal, presiding over his flock at Newport, 
delivered a most rhetorical sermon on the defeat of Braddock. "How 
are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle ! Braddock, thou 
wast slain in our low places by the cowardly foe, lurking among the 
reeds, afraid to meet thee on ecjual ground. We are distressed for 



The Hopkins- Ward Period. 199 

thee, dear Braddock,— very pleasant hast thou been to us! Alas, that 
it was for so short a time ! How are the mighty fallen ! How are the 
weapons of war perished !" Then after a scathing reproof to "degen- 
erate New England", and also an excellent digression upon proper 
military preparations, he thus advances to the "argument of excitation 
and encouragement": "To arms, then— To arms, ye descendants of 
ancient heroes, ye sons of honor and renown ! Rise, ye fathers of 
your country ! Let every noble principle that resides in your patriot 
breasts, awaken into new life and action, excited by the best motives, 
inspirited by the most glorious cause — religion, liberty, self-defence"/ 

It was most unfortunate for Rhode Island that, during this critical 
period of a foreign war, she should be beset by a political controversy, 
more severe and bitter than she had ever yet known in her annals. 
Almost synonomously with the breaking out of the French war, there 
commenced in Rhode Island a personal and jjarty contest, known as 
the Ward and Hopkins controversy, that was destined for a space of 
thirteen years to subordinate both local and colonial issues to the 
caprices of party judgment. For a clear understanding of this ap- 
proaching struggle, a brief explanation of the existing social and 
economic conditions is necessary, as well as some account of the terri- 
torial political relations. 

During all the early years of the colony Newport was predominant, 
not only in legislative atfairs, but also from a social and economic point 
of view. Her eminent men had successively held the highest offices 
and the trend of legislation had long been in favor of the section where 
their interests lay. But in course of time a change in these conditions 
was gradually effected — a change brought about to a great extent 
through the influence of Stephen Hopkins, whose efforts were seconded 
by the Browns and other leading citizens of Providence.- In 1727 a 
Providence man, in the person of Joseph Jencks, had been elected 
governor, and soon after that date the town seemed to take on a new 
growth. The population notably increased, long lacking town im- 
provements were established, and commerce and business developed 
accordingly. Since 1732 the governor's chair had been occupied by 
men identified with Newport interests. The Wantons and Wards were 
Newport families, and Governor William Greene, of Warwick, whose 
election in 1743 was regarded with disfavor by the island town, quickly 

'These sermons, all printed in 1755, are in the R. I. Hist. Soc. and the Red- 
wood Library. The titles are given in Hammett's Biblioriraphy of Neivport. 

-For Hopkins's efforts in raising Providence to political influence, see Fos- 
ter's Hoi)kins in R. I. Hist. Tracts, xix, ch. 5. 



The Hopkins- WxVrd Period. 201 

showed that his influence was in favor of Newport rather than Provi- 
dence. During his incumbency the rapid development and increasing 
power of Providence in various lines served to stimulate the growth of 
an anti-Providence sentiment in Newport and its vicinity, a sentiment 
that was still further promoted by discussion in the northern part 
of the state of Stephen Hopkins as successor to Governor Greene. 
Hopkins had been in public life since 1732, made rapid advancement 
and also was prominent in business undertakings. In 1754 he was 
run as a candidate against Governor Greene, but Avas defeated. The 
Newport influence was now entirely given over towards retaining the 
Warwick governor in the chair as against the succession of the Provi- 
dence candidate. The following year, leading up to the election of 
1755, was filled with political trickery and party virulence. Hopkins's 
opponents seized upon his known approval of the Plan of the Albany 
Congress, and endeavored to show that he had exceeded the bounds of 
his commission, and had tried to foist upon the assembly a project 
that was dangerous to the welfare of the colon^^ For his own defence 
and for political reasons, Hopkins published a pamphlet, March 29, 
1755, entitled "A True Representation of the Plan formed at Albany", 
in which he printed the action of the colony and the proceedings of 
the Congress, and appended a few pages of "personal defence". He 
asserted that he had performed only his duty, and accused the general 
assembly of carelessly neglecting all consideration of the Plan until 
seven months later it was brought up for discussion, solely to blast his 
(Hopkins's) reputation. "Can the valuable privileges of this 
colony", he concludes, "be safe in those hands, where everything else 
seems to be neglected, but what will serve their private purposes ? As 
I am a candidate for an office, I sincerely desire all men may put their 
country's interest in the first place, and give their votes only where 
they think 'tis most safe". 

Within a fortnight after the publication of Hopkins's pamphlet, 
there was issued a reply over the anonymous signature of "Philo- 
lethes". This latter tract is an excellent specimen of electioneering 
literature, reckless in its misstatement of facts, and filled with acri- 
mony and abuse.^ It evidently did not accomplish its purpose, for in 
the succeeding election of May, 1755, Hopldns was chosen governor of 
the colony. 

The issue was now fairly joined. The different sections of the 
colony gradually adopted the view of either Providence or Newport, 
according as their interests lay. As before stated, Newport had long 

'These two pamphlets are reprinted in Rider's Hist. Tracts, no. 9. 



202 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

been predominant in political, commercial and social respects, but 
across the bay in Narragansett county dwelt a population distin- 
guished for its wealth and culture, and with aristocratic leanings. 
North of this was Kent county,^ chiefly an agricultural district, like 
the outlying sections of Providence county, and somewhat bound to 
the northern town by business and social relationships. Exactly op- 
posite, on the eastern shore of the bay, lay Bristol county, with grow- 
ing commercial interests. Hence, in the approaching elections, it was 
not strange that the people of the Narragansett country acted with 
Newport against Providence. Bristol, mainly for commercial reasons, 
adhered to Providence, and the same was true of the northern part of 
Kent county. These conditions presented a fair field and were to a 
noticeable extent a factor in the causes which led to the beginning and 
subsequent prosecution of this bitter political contest. 

It is needless to say that the enemies of Governor Hopkins took 
every opportunity to complain of the acts of his first administration, 
and his re-election in 1756 only served to increase their exertions in 
this direction. They alleged that he had exercised his official power 
in an unwarranted manner; that he had set aside some acts of the 
assembly relating to the existing war ; had placed his sons in positions 
of trust for which they were not well equipped ; had charged excessive 
compensation for service as a member of the war committee ; that the 
disposition of certain property under war regulations had contributed 
to his own pecuniary interests, with further and more vague charges.^ 
The contest, at first largely one of territorial feeling, now became much 
more personal, while at the same time the freemen in Newport con- 
tinued in the assumption that their town was entitled to first place in 
all matters of governmental control. Her citizens were educated, able 
men, versed in public affairs, and to them it seemed ridiculous that 
they should have to resort to the Scituate hills for a governor. Provi- 
dence, of course, took the opposite view, and realizing its own growth, 
felt justified in resisting Newport's influence. 

The assembly of Hopkins's second term was not very warm in his 
support and was inclined to investigate the charges against him. The 

'The towns of East and West Greenwich, Warwick and Coventry had been 
set off from Providence county in June, 1750, and erected into a separate juris- 
diction, Icnown as Kent county, with East Greenwich as shire town. 

"See Foster's Hopkins in R. I. Hist. Tracts, xix, pt. 2, p. 15. See also "A 
brief Account of the Origin and present State of a Dispute between Mr. Hop- 
kins and myself, with some remarks thereon", in the Warner MSS., v. 2, no. 
702. This manuscript is without date or signature, but was, of course, from 
the pen of Governor Ward. 



The Hopkins- Ward Period. 203 

Governor issued a pamphlet, evidently hastily written and certainly 
ill-advised, under date of ]\Iarch 31, 1757, in which he defended the 
questioned acts of his administration. Instead of drawing forth a 
reply from Governor Greene, as he seems to have hoped, he started a 
new candidate for political honors in the person of Samuel Ward. 
This future participant in the Ward-Hopkins controversy, although 
at the time a deputy from Westerly to the general assembly, was a 
native of Newport and was thoroughly imbued wdth its interests. 
With his pen and his influence, he henceforth controlled the policy 
of the party that was later named after him. On April 12, 1757, he 
published an answer to Hopkins's pamphlet, repeating the charges 
previously made and showing how "unfit" his opponent was for office.^ 
This timely piece of political literature evidently had its effect, for in 
the ensuing May election Governor Greene triumphed by a large 
majority. 

Now began an undignified personal contest of unexampled bitterness 
and length, in which principles were almost wholly lost to sight. ' ' The 
subsequent acts and utterances", says Hopkins's biographer, "of these 
hitherto dignified and self-possessed citizens read like a chapter in a 
madman's life." In 1757 Hopkins brought a suit against Ward for 
slander, laying his damages at £20,000, the trial to take place in 
Providence. Ward, for obvious reasons, petitioned the assembly for 
a change of venue to Newport. This feature of /the affair was finally 
disposed of by both parties appearing before the assembly, where it 
was agreed that the plaintiff' would suspend his action in Providence, 
provided the defendant would meet him at Rehoboth, and submit to 
arrest and trial under Massachusetts laws."-^ The case was tried in 
September and the defendant obtained a verdict. Hopkins appealed 
to a higher court, where the case was continued from term to term 

'Hopkins's pamphlet and Ward's reply are reprinted in Narr. Hist. Reg. ill, 
257, iv, 40. Copies of the original pamphlets are in Warner MSS., (v. 2. no. 
706,708). Ward, in his account of the controversy (no. 702), says that Hop- 
kins, in order to prevent his opponents from preparing an answer, ordered the 
printer to keep the matter quiet and to conceal the pamphlets after they were 
printed. This is proved by J. Franklin's own testimony (no. 707). Ward 
further says that he was compelled to hurry forth a reply, writing a part of it 
in the printing-house, which might account for some of his "warmth and 
passion." 

=Warner MSS. no. 709, 715, 727. The case was transferred to the Worcester 
County Court of Common Pleas, where the records of the trial still remain. 
A comprehensive account of the case is in the Monthly Law Reporter, Oct., 
1859, xxii, 327. Some depositions presented in 1757 are printed in Narr. Hist. 
Reg. iv, 143. Ward's defence is in the Warner MSS. v. 2, no. 702, and also 
several depositions, v. 2, no. 709-713; v. 3, no. 714-727; v. 5, no. 1891-1892. 



204 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

until 1760, when the appellant "pray'd leave to discontinue the suit", 
and accordingly payed the costs, amounting to over £22. 

The political controversy, in the meanwhile, suffered no cessation. 
On February 22, 1758, Governor Greene died, and within three weeks 
Hopkins was chosen governor ' ' for the remaining part of the current 
year". The interval between this time and the succeeding May elec- 
tion Hopkins spent in insuring his own success as against the efforts 
of his opponent, Samuel Ward. A month before the election he 
addressed to the sheriff's of the five counties a letter in which he 
defended his own character against certain aspersions made by Ward, 
and accused his enemy of endeavoring to place himself at the head of 
the government "only by blasting another man's reputation". Thus 
he concludes: "However, I shall willingly submit my cause to the 
freemen of the colony, being fully assured that if their experience of 
my past service doth not recommend me to their favor, nothing I can 
say will do it".^ A few days later the Quakers of Smithfield were 
addressed by certain others of their faith in Newport and advised to 
"use their interest in favor of Governor Hopkins, as we have reason 
to think his opponent is not so moderate a man as w.e think is proper 
to sustain such a post".- When the election was held it was found that 
Hopkins was triumphant by a majority of but sixty-six votes.'' For 
four successive years he was chosen to the office, until the election of 
Ward in 1762 came to plunge the colony again into this seemingly 
never-ending controversy. 

But we must pause a moment and glance back at the progress of the 
Seven Years' War, which had been raging throughout the colonies 
concurrently with this local political struggle. Rhode Island had 
steadily contributed men and other aid to the various expeditions con- 
ducted by the English commanders. In February, 1756, she voted to 
raise 500 men for the attack upon Crown Point, but the expedition 
being abandoned the companies returned before reaching their destina- 

'This letter, dated April 17. 1758, is printed in Narr. Hist. Reg. ii, 110. The 
above quotation is reproduced in fac simile in Harper's Mag. xlvii, 272, and as 
frontispiece in Foster's Hopkins, vol. 2. 

=Dated Apr. 28, 1758, in Warner MSS, no. 731. 

*In the collection of papers in the R. I. H. S. Lib'y on the Ward and Hop- 
kins controversy, is a paper giving the detailed vote at this election. This 
interesting document shows a total of 1281 proxy town meeting votes and 447 
"hand" votes for Hopkins, and 1328 proxy and 334 "hand" votes for Ward, 
giving a majority of 66 votes to Hopkins, although Ward had triumphed at the 
town meetings by 47 majority. This is probably more con-ect than the mem- 
orandum preserved by Samuel Eddy, mentioned in Foster's Hopkins, ii, 258. 
In 1759, Hopkins's majority was 351. (Prov. Gazette, Apr. 18, 1767.) 



The Hopkins- AVard Period. 205 

tion. In the following year England came under the A^dser adminis- 
tration of William Pitt and more energetic measures were taken 
towards prosecuting the war in America. "When Pitt in 1758 called 
upon the colonies to make extraordinary effort, Rhode Island 
responded with a vote to raise 1,000 men. The results of these 
measures were immediately felt. Louisburg, which had been strongly 
fortified since its reversion to the French, was besieged by Amherst 
and Wolfe in June, 1758, and after a defence of seven weeks was 
compelled to surrender. A disastrous defeat was suffered at Ticon- 
deroga in July, but was more than retrieved by the capture of Forts 
Frontenac and Duquesne. In 1759 Rhode Island again voted to 
furnish 1,000 men for the intended conquest of Canada. In Septem- 
ber, Quebec, the chief objective point, surrendered to the daring of 
Wolfe. The conquest of all Canada was now only a matter of time, 
and in the following year was completed by the taking of Montreal. 
In this campaign of 1760 Rhode Island also had 1,000 men, who were 
disbanded when the success of the English arms was proclaimed. 
England now had obtained possession of the Ohio Valley, the pri- 
mary object of the war, and Canada as v/ell. George II died in Octo- 
ber, 1760, and to his successor, George III, was committed the project 
of 1761, of taking the French West Indies. Rhode Island contributed 
400 men to this expedition, which, being waged to a greater extent 
upon the sea, was more to her liking. Although Spain joined with 
France in 1762, the supremacy of the English even against the two 
powers never remained in question. Martinique and other islands 
surrendered in quick succession. The final movement of the war was 
the expedition against the Spanish province of Cuba, in which Rhode 
Island had 262 men. In August, 1762, Havana, the strong Cuban 
fortress, was captured after a two weeks' siege, and the colony of New 
France ceased to exist. ^ On February 10, 1763, the Peace of Paris 
gave a settlement to England's great conquests in the New World. 
England gained practically everything east of the Mississippi and all 
Canada. Spain had all west of the Mississippi and as far north as 
the watershed of the ]\Iissouri. To France was given only the West 
Indies and some unimportant islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 

'Rhode Island's course in this war can be gleaned chiefly from the Colonial 
Records, from the early files of the Newjjort Mercury, established in 1758, 
from the series of official letters in the secretary of state's office, and from a 
vol. of "Papers relating to the old French war, 1755-1761" in the same office. 
The R. I. Hist. Soc. has nine muster rolls from 1756 to 1761 in "R. I. MSS." vi, 
64-72. Letters written in the attempt to ascertain the names of the Rhode 
Island soldiers in the Havana expedition of 1762 are in R. I. H. 8. Publ. vi, 
192, 219. 



206 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Rhode Island had experienced considerable hardship during the war. 
Her commerce seems to have suffered especially. In 1758 it was stated 
that she had "lost from 90 to 100 vessels", a loss "three times as 
great as that of New York and four times as great as that of Massa- 
chusetts". And a list compiled in 1764 shows that 65 vessels had been 
either wrecked or captured since 1756 from the port of Providence 
alone. ^ These reverses were particularly felt in the commercial towns. 
A dissenter to the tax rate of 1759 asserted that "The merchants of 
the town of Newport have lost in the course of their trade, upwards 
of two millions of money since the commencement of the present war. 
The price of provisions and all other necessaries of life, being greatly 
increased by reason of the war, is an additional burden to, and greatly 
distresses the inhabitants of said towoi, Avho depend on trade and 
labor for their support ; at the same time, it may be observed, that the 
inhabitants of the other parts of the colony, are proportionately 
benefited in the price of the produce of their estates, occasioned also 
by the war".- 

The excessive demands made upon her resources in contributing aid 
during the war, the colony had met by necessary issues of bills of 
credit. In 1755, £240,000, called "Crown Point money", was emitted, 
and in 1756 came £14,000 more, known as "Lawful money". From 
then until 1763 bills of credit were issued in small sums to meet the 
necessary expenses of government. The colony had much better suc- 
cess in redeeming these bills than before, chiefly through the means 
of English aid, "When Parliament decided to reimburse the colonies 
for their war expenses, Rhode Island could then see light ahead. 
Beginning with August, 1756, there periodically arrived from England 
chests of silver and gold amounting in all to nearly £57,000 specie, 
which went a great way towards the redemption of the colony 's large 
outstanding amounts. Yet in spite of this aid and the help of fre- 
quent colony taxes, she emerged from the war with a heavy debt Avliich 
it took years to discharge. 

During all this period these important questions of war and finance 
had been greatly influenced by the rival Hopkins and A¥ard parties. 
Hopkins had been steadily elected to the office of governor in the years 

'Foster's Hopkins, ii, 24, and Prov. Gazette for Jan. 21, 1764. See also list 
of losses In Sheffield's Privateers, p. 56. R. I.'s commerce at this time was 
certainly quite large, as may be shown in the list of privateers fitted out dur- 
ing the war (Sheffield's Privateers, p. 52.) and the list of the vessels owned in 
Providence, 1748-1760, compiled by Moses Brown. (Printed in the chapter on 
R. I. commerce elsewhere in this work.) 

"-R. I. C. R. vi, 212. 



The Hopkins- Ward Period. 



207 



1758 to 1761, but the controversy was by no means ended. As a writer 
in the Newport Mercury says : ' ' Party virulence had been increasing, 
until one general hostility pervaded the whole colony, which raged 
between the friends and supporters of the two candidates. It appears 
to have been a question about men, more than aljout measures. Be- 
tween the mercantile and the farming interests, between the aristocracy 
of wealth and magnificence and the democracy of numbers, the colony 
was torn by domestic discord; town against town, and neighborhood 




Hopkins House, Situated on Hopkins Street, Providence. 

Here lived Stephen Hopkins, governor of Rhode Island and a signer of the Declaration 

of Independence. 

against neighborhood; almost every freeman was enlisted in one or 
the other ranks, and felt towards each other that hostility which 
abated even the charities and hospitalities of life ' '.^ 

Shortly before the election in 1761, Hopkins offered "for the peace 
of the colony" to withdraw his name from the political canvass, pro- 

'Quotation from the Newport Mercury in R. I. C. R. vi, 549. 



208 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

vided that Mr. "Ward would do the same. This proposal Ward 
refused, preferring to leave the subject in the hands of the freemen. 
He was again defeated. In January, 1762, he followed the example 
of Hopkins by making propositions of peace, with the terms that both 
candidates should resign their pretensions and that a NeAvport man 
should be chosen governor and a Hopkins man deputy-governor.^ 
This was of course refused, and Ward bent his energies towards the 
approaching election. He had a pamphlet published entitled "A 
Dialogue Between the Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and a 
Freeman of the Same Colony". The governor, Hopkins, thus addresses 
the freeman: "Good morrow, sir; I just touched at your house this 
morning, to desire the favor of your vote for continuing me in my 
post the next year". The freeman replies: "I wish the public good 
would allow me to oblige your honor; but except you remove some 
doubts I have about the rectitude of your late administration, I can 
by no means grant you this favor". Then this diatribe goes on to 
arraign the administration, accusing the governor of perversion of 
the colony's funds to his own use and of various other transgressions 
in office. The Hopkins party immediately issued pamphlets in reply 
to the Dialogue, sarcastically denouncing its author and defending 
their own administration.- AVard's efforts towards public honors were 
now crowned with complete success. For the first time in the long 
struggle he was chosen governor at the election of May, 1762. 

The election of 1763 promised to be a w^arm struggle. In September 
of the previous year the Governor and the assistants had claimed a 
negative over the Deputies in regard to certain proceedings about the 
election laws. This high-handed action occasioned much protest and 
operated adversely to the Ward party in the approaching election.^ 
Both sides now girded themselves for the battle and invoked the 
columns of the public press as a means of spreading party doctrine. 
The Providence Gazette had recently been established in the northern 
town, henceforth serving as a useful political medium for the Hopkins 

'Arnold, ii, 226, 235, quoting from MSS. in the secretary of state's office. 

"A copy of the Dialogue, bearing the imprint of J. Franklin, 1762, is in the 
R. I. H. S. Library. It drew forth "A reply to a late Dialogue", falsely attrib- 
uted to Governor Hopkins. I have seen no copy of this pamphlet, but it is 
advertised in the Newport Mercury of March 2, 1762. Another reply, com- 
menting upon both the preceding pamphlets, is dated March 22, 1762, and 
entitled "Remarks on a late Performance, signed, A Freeman of the Colony, in 
answer to a dialogue between the governor of the colony of Rhode Island and 
a freeman of the same colony." A copy of this is in the R. I. H. S. MSS. vi, 26. 

'See Arnold, ii, 239. In the "Foster papers," ix, 83, in the R. I. H. S. 
Library, is a long argument on this particular subject attributed to John 
Aplin. 



The Hopkins- Ward Period. 209 

party. Some one from the town of Cumberland wrote a public letter 
severely arraigning the Ward administration and calling upon his 
countrymen to "arise and assert their privileges". An anonymous 
writer, T. R., a cooper by trade, published "A Letter to the Common 
People", in which he attacked the financial policy of the party in 
power. This letter, though asserted to have been written without the 
least party view, was innnediately answered by Ward's friends, which 
in turn drew forth from Stephen Hopkins, over his own signature, a 
circular letter to the freemen, denying all charges. His concluding 
sentence shows how easily these distinguished men could descend to 
vituperation and personal traducemeut : "To conclude— slander and 
defamation have always been the principal engines of Mr. Ward, to 
get himself into the chair : and to do him justice, no man has greater 
talents that way, than he, or uses them with more industry. As to this 
son of Gideon, whom Mr. Ward got to father his scurrilous perform- 
ance, I shall take no other notice of, than that he is much better 
qualified to scrub a ship 's deck, than to write politics ' '.^ 

Again the tide of victory turned, and in May, 1763, Hopkins was 
chosen to the governor's chair by 271 majority. Too elated to let the 
opportunity pass, his party came out with an exulting lampoon, 
entitled "The Fall of Samuel the Squomicutite, and the Overthrow 
of the Sons of Gideon". In quaint imitation of Biblical phraseology, 
it relates how "in those days there was contention in the land of the 
Pumkinites, between Stephen the Choppomiskite, and Samuel the 
Squomicutite. And the inhabitants of Tropwen [Newport] sent 
message to Samuel the Squomicutite, saying we will give our daughters 
unto thy sons, and take thy sons for our daughters, we will become 
as one people, and fight thy battles against Stephen the Choppomiskite, 
if thou wilt come and dwell in the land of Tropwen. And Samuel 
being a weak man, hearkened unto the people of Tropwen, and came 
and dwelt among them, at different times, for the space of three whole 
weeks. And Samuel made affinity with Gideon and his sons". Then 
this libellous parable goes on to tell how Samuel promised to the sons 
of Gideon— Gideon Wanton, of course, is meant — all sorts of political 
preferment, how he made league with the "Money Changers" and 

'The Cumberland broadside "To the Public" is signed by "A Freeman", and 
is dated Apr. 16, 1763. The Cooper's letter, dated Mar. 31, 1763, is a four page 
pamphlet, also reprinted in the Prov. Gazette of Apr. 9, 1763. The Hopkins 
broadside "To the Freemen of the Colony" is dated April 19, 1763. These rare 
items are all in the R. I. H. S. Library. I have never heard of the existence of 
a copy of the Ward pamphlet which Hopkins intimates was written by a son 
of Gideon Wanton. 

14-1 



210 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

strove for the votes of the laboring men. The fall of Samuel and the 
triumph of Stephen is thus jubilantly portrayed.. "Now the 
Quakerites, Choppomiskites, and Narragansetites, liked not the doings 
of Samuel and the sons of Gideon, and they set the battle in array 
against Samuel, and they smote him hip and thigh, so that the killed 
and wounded of that day, Avere dispersed throughout all the land of 
the Pumkinites, from the land of the fisherman, eastward, until thou 
comest to the great river Paukituck, westward. And the battle went 
sore against the sons of Gideon, several of them were slain, and those 
that remain, were sore affrighted".^ 

On February 28, 1764, Governor Ward addressed to the general 
assembly a proposal which he thought might end the strife. It was 
in effect that both he and Governor Hopkins should ' ' resign our pre- 
tensions to the chief seat of government; for the passions and preju- 
dices of the people have been so warmly engaged for a long time 
against one or the other of us, that, should either Mr, Hopkins or 
myself be in the question, I imagine the spirit of party, instead of 
subsiding, would rage with as great violence as ever", etc. This 
proposal, like a similar one made by Governor AVard in 1762, produced 
no good result, since it was again proposed that the Governor should 
be a Newport man. On the very same date as the Ward letter, Hop- 
kins wrote to his opponent, offering him the post of Deputy-Governor 
as a means of settling the dispute. But Ward had no wish to play 
"second fiddle", and replied, "I am neither seeking nor desiring the 
office of Governor or Deputy-Governor. My sole aim is to restore 
peace to the Colony, and as my accepting this office will not in my 
opinion have any tendency to obtain that desirable end or answer any 
other good purpose, I cannot agree to it".^ 

^There are two slightly differing editions of this rare broadside. The R. I. 
H. S. Library has copies of both. They are undated, but undoubtedly were 
printed just after the election of 1763. They might possibly, however, have 
been printed after the Hopkins triumph of 1761. 

-The two letters of Feb. 28, 1764, are printed in Gammell's Life of Ward, p. 
270. The reply of Ward, dated Feb. 29, 1764, is from a copy in the R. I. Hist. 
Soc. Library. James Honeyman and other magistrates went to Ward, March 
1, 1764, making proposals similar to those made by Hopkins. Ward replied 
with a letter, dated March 2, 1764, saying: "The proposals which you have 
been pleased to make me will not in my opinion answer the desirable end pro- 
posed". He then continues with his reasons for not accepting the office of 
Deputy-Governor, upholding his own position in the controversy, saying, 
among other things, that "a very great part of the freemen of this Colony have 
for a long time opposed Gov'r Hopkins's administration with zeal and warmth, 
and that it is not probable this plan will satisfy those gentlemen, as by it Mr. 
Hopkins is to remain in the Chair". (From copies in the R. L Hist. Soc. 
Lib'y. ) Hopkins wrote a political letter to the Prov. Gazette, issue of April 7, 



The Hopkins- Ward Period. 211 

Hopkins again triumphed in the election of 1764, bnt by the very 
narrow majority of 24 votes.^ By the following year, however, the 
Ward party had acquired sufficient strength to elect their candidate, 
and he triumphed in 1765 by a majority of 200 in a vote 
of 4,400. Early in the next year, W^ard made another attempt at 
pacification, which, as usual, failed because of that gentleman's 
insistence that Newport should control the government. On March 1, 
1766, Daniel Jencks wrote from South Kingstown, in reply to a 
proposal made by IMr. Ward on the previous day. This proposal was 
in effect that Mr. Jencks should take the governor's chair and locate 
in Newport; that the Deputy-Governor should remain in Providence, 
and that the Council should be divided. ]\lr. Jencks proposed in his 
reply that "the late Governor Hopkins and Col. Wanton on one side 
and your Hon'r and the present Depu'y Gov'r on the other, together 
with such a number of the principal gentlemen of the Colony as you 
shall agree upon, have a meeting either at East Greenwich or Bristol 
where I doubt not but such a plan may be agreed upon as 
will once more unite all parties and restore peace and tranquillity to 
this divided Colony ".- 

Nothing appears to have been accomplished under this proposal and 
Mr. Ward filled the office of Governor until 1767. In the spring of 
that year the old conflict assumed its customary activity. After a 
zealous attempt at pacification, which was attended with the usual 
lack of success, the rival parties met at the polls to test their respective 
strength. Hopkins was elected governor by the large majority of 414.^ 

1764, printing these offers of peace and condemning the refusal of the Ward 
party to accede to them. There is an electioneering letter from Ward to Peter 
Phillips of North Kingstown, dated March 16, 1764. in the R. I. H. S. MSS, ii, 
101. Ward also wrote a letter to the public, dated April 10, 1764. For a letter 
hy Hopkins, Apr. 16, 1764. in justification of Joseph Wanton, see Peterson, 
Hist, of R. I. p. 208. 

^A MS. enumeration of the votes of this election, in the R. I. H. S. Lib'y, 
shows that Hopkins received 1,992 votes to Ward's 1,968 votes. The distribu- 
tion of the vote is interesting. Ward won in Newport county except James- 
town, in all Washington county, in Kent county, except Warwick, in Bristol, 
and in Glocester and Johnston of Providence county. Hopkins carried only 
five towns in Providence county, Warren, Jamestown and Warwick, above 
mentioned, but eight out of twenty-seven towns. The great majorities ob- 
tained by Hopkins, however, in the towns that he did carry, won the day. 
The above figures are all the proxy votes made by the towns at their meetings 
the third Wednesday in April. The "hand votes" amounted to six for Ward 
and four for Hopkins. This small number was on account of the change in 
the election law in August, 1760, when personal voting at the May election, 
was limited to the assembly. 

-From a copy of the letter in the R. I. H. S. Library. 

^For the attempts at pacification see the letters on the subject printed in 
the R. I. C. R. vi, 550-554. The detailed vote by towns, giving 1,153 to Hopkins 
and 739 to Ward, is in the Prov. Gazette, Apr. 18, 1767. 



212 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

This signal victory showed the probability of further continuance of 
t"his political struggle which both sides now agreed must be stopped, 
even at the cost of party pride. In October, 1767, Hopkins urged 
upon the assembly the necessity of ascertaining "some method to heal 
our breaches, prevent animosities, and introduce peace and harmony 
and consequently happiness among the people. In order to do this I 
am willing and ready and freely offer to resign and give up the office 
that I sustain, and to do any and every other thing in my power that 
may any way contribute toward so desirable an end as the peace of 
the colony ' '. His own proposition was as follows : ' ' That INIr. Ward 
and his friends should nominate a Governor from among those in the 
interest of Mr. Hopkins, who were to appoint a Deputy-Governor of 
the friends of the first-named gentleman, and so on alternately with, 
all the assistants; or, if Mr. Ward and those in his interest, should 
decline the first nomination, his Honor, and those interested with him, 
will nominate a Governor from the friends of Mr. AVard, and so on 
as before". 

Since Mr. Ward was not present when the plan was offered to the 
assembly, it was not then adopted. But early in the following year 
both parties addressed themselves to the matter with earnest effort. 
On March 11, 1768, a committee of ten Newport citizens, representing 
Mr. Ward, wrote to Governor Hopkins that "the plan hath since been 
considered ; and induced by a strong regard to the American interest 
in general and the peace and felicity of this unhappy colony in 
particular; and to avoid the contention which must infallibly takei 
place without a coalition of parties. Moved by these considerations! 
only, we consent to make trial of the plan, and now inform your Honor 
that we do, with the consent of Mr. Ward, accept of your proposals] 
with this addition, that the Secretary, General Treasurer, and Attor- 
ney-General remain as at present, which in our opinion will tend toj 
prevent any dispute about the General Officers. — that is to say. — That] 
your Honor and Mr. Ward both retire and relinquish your pretensions! 
to the office of Governor; that you. Sir, with your friends nominate a] 
Governor from among Mr. Ward's friends; that Mr. Ward with his 
friends nominate a Deputy Governor from among the friends of yourj 
Honor; that the Assistants be nominated alternately by you and your 
friends and by Mr. AVard and his friends in the same manner as the] 
Governor and Deputy Governor are to be nominated; and that the] 
other General Officers remain as at present". 

This proposed arrangement w^as accepted on March 17, with a I 
further i:)rovision "that the same manner of nomination be carried 



The Hopkins- Ward Period. 213 

thro' all the officers of the several Courts in the Colony", these nomi- 
nations to be made alternately from among the friends of each con- 
testant beginning with a Chief Justice of the Superior Court chosen 
by the Ward party from among Mr, Hopkins's friends/ This amend- 
ment was agreed to by Ward's friends on March 24, and five days 
later committees representing both parties met at Newport and con- 
cluded the treaty. Josias Lyndon of Newport was agreed upon for 
governor, and Nicholas Cooke of the Hopkins faction for deputy- 
governor, who in April were chosen to their positions by overwhelming 
majorities. Hopkins and Ward relinquished all future aspirations 
for the oitice, and in other capacities henceforth served their colony 
as faithfully and more profitably than before. 

Thus came to an end the historic Ward-Hopkins controversy. 
Fortunately for the interests of the colony in general, as well as for 
the future good repute of its principal actors, this long and bitter 
struggle came to a peaceful settlement, although it was many years 
before the feelings engendered by it were wholly dispelled. The 
preceding ten years had surely been a decade in which discord and 
dissension had had full sway, and in which the evil effects had been 
visited both on the colony and on the participants. "Both parties", 
says an early Newport writer, "were heartily tired of the expense, 
discord and corruption which had marked its progress".^ Neither 
of the chief actors had much cause for congratulation. "It is diffi- 
cult", says an authority on the subject, "to comprehend the blindness 

'The documents illustrating this final settlement were preserved by Moses 
Brown and are in the R. I. H. S. Library. Lyndon's own account of his elec- 
tion is in Moses Brown Papers, i, 94. See also the account from the Newport 
Mercury, reprinted in R. I. C. R. vi, 548. 

-R. I. C. R. vi, 5.50. This matter of bribery and expense at elections is well 
authenticated. Col. Robert Rogers, in his Concise Account of N. A. p. 55-59, 
writes in 1765 concerning the R. I. method of electing governors, "Generally 
he that distributes the most cash, and gives the best entertainments, let him 
he merchant, farmer, tradesman, or what he will, is the man who obtains a 
majority of votes, which fixes him in the chair (death alone excepted) for that 
year. These election expenses generally run high, as each candidate endeav- 
ors to excel his competitor". Governor Hopkins sends money down to South 
County "with the utmost regret that I find myself pushed by the scandalous 
efforts of my enemies in this manner to have recourse to the assistance of my 
friends once more in this extraordinary method". (See letters in Narr. Hist. 
Reg. ii, 109.) 

An electioneering song, written by one G. B., amusingly portrays this cor- 
ruption in politics, not peculiar to Rhode Island, however. It begins thus: 
"In Providence town, that old place of renown, 
A certain great man did bear rule. 

And he who was not his creature to show his ill nature 
He would call him a knave or a fool." 



214 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of this partisan fend. The phenomenon wonld be a surprising one 
under any circumstances ; but is almost incredible when the character, 
abilities, and attainments of the two chief actors in the contest are 
considered; and when it is remembered that in nearly every other 
connection they were distinguished by judicial fairness of temper".^ 

It is equally difficult to assign any satisfactory reasons for the inten- 
sity of the controversy. At first chiefly a difference between sections in 
regard to certain measures, it gradually grew to be a difference between 
men. And then political issues, local jealousies, and personal enmity 
became so indiscriminately mixed that it seemed as if the bitterness 
and discord of partisan politics were reproduced in inverse ratio to the 
small size of the colony. The results of the contest were not especially 
significant. The town of Providence came out a gainer both in 
political and governmental influence, although this was undoubtedly 
brought about by her commercial and economic growth more than by 
any political triumph of Hopkins. Her improvement along economic 
and social lines had certainly been remarkable. During the decade of 
the Hopkins- Ward controversy her commerce had almost doubled, 
trade and manufactures Avere encouraged, and her wealth had notably 
increased. She had established a library in 1754, a post-office in 1758, 
and a newspaper in 1762 ; and more than all this, in 1770 she had won 
away from Newport and every other to^^^n in the colony the honor 
of having Brown University as a local institution.- A less edifying 

It goes on to relate how Ward suddenly arose as an opponent and in print 
disclosed Hopkins's perfidioiisness. The Governor thereupon called the assem- 
bly and proposing a plan for overturning Ward, asks their advice: 
"Then they all did say we think it is the best way 
For we do think he did act very bold. 
As to dare to reply and to point out those lies 
It appears that your honor hath told." 
In the same lofty strain, the poet tells of Hopkins's fears for the approach- 
ing election and his liberal use of illicit means. The following stanzas vividly 
portray the scene on election day: 

"At Newport on the election day 
Held in the month that's called May, 
Some honest men assembled were 
That day to choose their governor. 
But to their grief they there did find 
The drunk, the halt, the lame, the blind, 
Who like knaves with them this trick did try 
To break the act against Bribery." 
The poem then concludes with a scurrilous attack on Hopkins's character. 
(R. I. H. S. MSS., ix, 27. There is another ballad on the subject of election 
expenses in the Ne^vport Mercury, Aug. 29, 1768.) 
'Foster's Hopkins, ii, 31. 

-For the various early developments in Providence, see Foster's Hopkins, 
1, ch. 5. The documents concerning the contest for the location of the college. 



The Hopkins-Ward Period. 215 

result was the jealousy and enmity manifested between the northern 
and southern towns, which only the common hardship of a lasting 
war could dispel. 

The united aid of such influential men as Hopkins and AVard was 
needed in matters far more important than the triumph of this or 
that political faction. Since the close of the French war, events had 
been conspiring to bring on almost constant friction between the 
colonies and the mother country. The new King, George IH, had 
almost from the moment of his accession begun to adopt a more 
imperious policy towards the colonists ; and they in turn, conscious of 
their military strength and more accustomed to united action, Avere 
ready to assume an independent attitude when the occasion offered. 
When Grenville became head of the cabinet in 1763, he inaugurated 
three lines of policy henceforth insisted upon by the British govern- 
ment. The first was the rigid execution of the Navigation Acts 
whereby English merchants could reap a middleman's profit, the 
second was the taxation of the colonies for the partial support of 
British garrisons, and the third was the permanent establishment of 
British troops in America. 

One of the first propositions of the new ministry was to renew the 
Sugar and Molasses Act of 1733, which prohibited all direct trade in 
those staple articles between the colonies and the West Indies. Imme- 
diately Rhode Island, in connnon with the other governments, convened 
her assembly in January, 1764, and ordered her London agent, Joseph 
Sherwood, to join wdth the other agents in resisting this scheme. Gov- 
ernor Hopkins furthermore drew up an elaborate remonstrance, 
setting forth the injurious effects of such an act. His clear and force- 
ful argument showed how dependent the colony, whose chief means of 
existence lay in commerce, was upon this trade and how a prohibition of 
it would injure her beyond measure. "Upwards of thirty distil houses, 
for want of molasses, must be shut up to the ruin of many families 
and of our trade in general. Two-thirds of our vessels will become 
useless, and perish upon our hands; our mechanics, and those who de- 
pend upon the merchant for employment, must seek for subsistence 
elsewhere ; and what must very sensibly affect the present and future 
naval power and commerce of Great Britain, a nursery of seamen, at 
this time twenty-two hundred, in this colony only, will be in a manner 
destroyed ; and as an end will be put to our commerce, the merchants 

are either printed or quoted in Guild, B. U. and Maiming, the originals being 
chiefly in the R. I. H. S. Library. 



216 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

cannot import any more British manufactures, nor will the people be 
able to pay for those they have already received".^ 

But Parliament was intent upon maldng the colonies contribute to 
English money coffers, and in April, 1764, passed the act, embodying- 
in it duties on various other foreign goods and providing effective 
means of collecting the revenue. At the same time was projected 
another act, much more offensive, since it involved the question 
of colony rights. It was proposed to lay a small stamp tax upon the 
colonies in order to support a permanent British garrison in America. 
The news of these measures produced instant excitement. Parliament 
had asserted its "right to tax the colonies": and the colonists asserted 
on their part that their relations with the crown were chiefly govern- 
mental, that external taxation through custom duties was a very 
different thing from internal taxation levied directly upon the people, 
and that taxation, anyway, without representation was illegal. The 
Rhode Island assembly in July, 1764, appointed a committee to confer 
with the other colonies, for the purpose of securing a repeal of the 
sugar act, of hindering the passage of the stamp tax, and of generally 
preventing "all such taxes, duties, or impositions, that may be pro- 
posed to be assessed upon the colonists, which may be inconsistent with 
their rights and privileges as British subjects".^ 

The operation of these revenue laws was brought most closely to 
the attention of the people by the presence in Newport harbor of a 
great number of English naval officers, ever on the watch for any 
evasion of the duties. Under the circumstances it was but natural 
that many personal conflicts should take place. In one of these cases, 
in July, 1764, a Newport mob attacked the British schooner St. John, 
took a couple of prisoners and turned the guns of the fort upon the 
vessel. A few months later, in June, 1765, another mob burned one 
of the boats of the Maidstone, a British vessel that had long terrorized 
the sailoi-s of Newport by insisting upon the right of impressment.^ 
These early attempts to resist British oppression clearly showed the 
temper of the more tumultuous portion of the people. 

'R. I. C. R. vi, 381. 

-R. I. C. R. vi, 403. 

■'R. I. C. R. vi, 428, 446. Governor Ward, in a letter upon the latter attack, 
asserted that "the impressing of Englishmen, is, in my opinion, an arbitrary 
action, contrary to law, inconsistent with liberty, and to be justified only by 
very urgent necessity". He stated that all the English officers were subject to 
Rhode Island laws and announced that he intended "to assert and maintain 
the liberties and privileges of His Majesty's subjects; and the honor, dignity 
and jurisdiction of the colony." 



The Hopkins- Ward Period. 317 

The committee appointed in July, 1764, to draw up addresses to 
the King reported at the November session. The results of their 
labors, both from the clear and forceful pen of Stephen Hopkins, 
consisted of a petition to His Majesty and a pamphlet entitled "The 
Rights of Colonies Examined".^ This latter composition, which Gov- 
ernor Hutchinson asserted "was conceived in a higher strain" than the 
memorials of the other colonies, contained a most just and discriminat- 
ing statement of colonial rights. It was insisted upon as a due and 
not as a privilege that the unjust restraints upon America's trade 
should be removed, that the courts of vice-admiralty should not be 
vested with powers so extensive as to curtail the legal rights of the 
colonists, and that internal taxes should not be levied without the 
consent of their own representatives. 

But these remonstrances and all others were without avail. Parlia- 
ment, unwilling to yield any of its assumed prerogative, passed the 
Stamp Act in March, 1765, and appointed as collectors some of the 
most eminent men in each colony. Immediately a storm of protest 
arose. Remonstrances, non-importation agreements and riots followed 
each other in quick succession. The spirit of resistance was firm and 
everywhere manifest. The Rhode Island towns instructed their 
deputies to give their most urgent attention to the matter, the Newport 
town council asserting "It is for liberty, that liberty for which our 
fathers fought, that liberty which is dearer to a generous mind than 
life itself, that we now contend".- The Providence Gazette issued an 
extra number with the stirring motto, "Where the Spirit of the Lord 
is. There is Liberty", and reprinted everything obtainable that in- 

'This pamphlet of Hopkins's was published in Providence in 1764 and 1765 
and in London in 1766. It is reprinted in the R. I. C. R. vi, 416. It brought 
forth from the Newport Tory, Martin Howard, an anonymous reply entitled, 
"A Letter from a Gentleman at Halifax to his Friend in R. L", etc., 1765. 
James Otis of Boston then answered this latter pamphlet anonymously with 
"A Vindication of the British Colonies and the Aspersions of the Halifax Gen- 
tleman in his Letter to a Rhode Island Friend". Howard replied with, "A 
Defence of the letter from a Gentleman in Halifax to his Friend in R. I.", 
which brought out another pamphlet, probably written by Otis, entitled "Brief 
Remarks on the Defence of the Halifax libel on the British American colo- 
nies". These were all published in 1765. For an analysis of the contents of 
Hopkins's pamphlet and an account of its different editions and of the replies 
of Howard and Otis, see Foster's Hopkins, ii. 51-70, 227. A copy of another 
pamphlet ascribed to Hopkins is entitled, "A Letter to the Author of the Hali- 
fax Letter, Occasioned by his Book, Entitled A Defence of that Letter", 1765, is 
listed in Sabin's Dictionary (no. 40,457), but has not as yet been located in 
any library. 

"See Staples's Annals of Providence, p. 210; Newport MS. Town Rec. 1679- 
1776, p. 802. 



218 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

dicated the spirit of freedom. In Newport the demonstrations were 
more violent, resulting in the hanging in effigy of obnoxious Tories 
and in plundering their houses. 

The general assembly met in September, 1765, and gave their close 
attention to these important matters. They adopted a series of six 
resolutions, claiming that "the general assembly of this colony have, in 
their representative capacity, the only exclusive right to lay taxes 
and imposts upon the inhabitants of this colony", who "are not bound 
to yield obedience to any law or ordinance designed to impose any 
internal taxation whatsoever upon them, other than the laws and 
ordinances of the general assembly, aforesaid". Similar bold legisla- 
tion was embodied in instructions to the delegates to the proposed 
Stamp Act Congress.^ The sentiment of union and common defence 
that had gradually been forming throughout America manifested itself 
in this gathering of prominent men at New York in October, 1765. 
With careful deliberation they drew up a "Declaration of Rights and 
Grievances", asserting their privileges as Englishmen and complain- 
ing of Parliament's unjust legislation. Surprised at these bold 
utterances and at the unmistakable evidences of America's hostility, 
Parliament met, and after a long debate, in which the venerable Pitt 
insisted that "England has no right to tax the colonies", repealed the 
Stamp Act by a vote of more than two to one. Unwilling, however, 
to yield in principle, they passed an amendatory act declaring the 
right of Parliament to tax and otherwise govern the colonies in all 
cases whatsoever. 

The news of the repeal was greeted by the colonists with extravagant 
demonstrations of joy. The Rhode Island assembly adopted an 
address of thanks to the King and ordered a day of public thanksgiv- 
ing. In the larger towns, like Providence and Newport, the firing of 
cannon and the ringing of beUs, the display of flags and of fireworks, 
and the public demonstrations of processions, dinners, and balls, all 
attested the people's gratitude for their deliverance. But their joy 
was to be short-lived. The year 1766 witnessed a change in the 
English government. Pitt, although created prime minister, was too 
aged to direct affairs, and the control of the colonies fell into the 
hands of Townshend, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer. This 
active official quickly resumed an imperial colonial policy. The execu- 
tion of the navigation acts was given over to a board of commissioners 
with plenary powers, and soon a complete colonial department was 

^For these resolutions see B. I. C. R. vi, 450-452. For R. I.'s part in urging 
this Congress, see Foster's Hopkins, ii, 70-71. 



The Period of Colonial Resistance. 219 

created. In May, 1767, a new scheme of taxation was devised, laying 
import duties upon ^lass, lead, paints, paper, and tea. This plan, which 
avoided the objection to internal taxes, was not financially burden- 
some to the colonies, but it again brought up the former question of 
the right of taxation. The law officers of the Crown had often 
rendered their opinion that, as a principle of English law, the colonies 
could not be taxed except through their own representatives. And 
the colonies insisted that the violation of this principle was unjust and 
tyrannical. 

In Ehode Island, as elsewhere, the information that new importation 
acts had been passed was received with indignation. The time had 
come for determined and united action. Such a necessity undoubtedly 
was the controlling factor in the settlement of the party contest that had 
existed in Rhode Island for so many years. When compared with the 
momentous question of resistance to oppression and a possibility of 
national independence, this petty local strife lost its importance. 
Matters of too great portent forbade that it be continued, and accord- 
ingly it ceased. Henceforth the colony could give its undivided 
attention to the great subjects of the hour. Whether the future 
meant resistance or submission, slavery or freedom, Rhode Island could 
enter the contest with untrammelled powers. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
THE PERIOD OF COLONIAL RESISTANCE. 

The effort of Parliament to coerce the colonies into a belief in the 
British principle of taxation met with tremendous opposition in 
America. Boston quickly led the, way in a proposition refusing to 
import any of the articles listed in the tax. Providence and Newport 
soon followed suit, and passed acts to discourage the use of English 
goods and to encourage home manufacture.^ In February, 1768, 
Massachusetts sent out a circular letter to the other colonies protesting 
against the new laws and inviting concerted action against them. 
Parliament immediately took great offence at this letter. Lord Hills- 
borough wrote to Rhode Island, "Exert your utmost influence to 

'See Prov. Gazette, Nov. 28, Dec. 12, 1767. 



220 Statk of Kuoni-: Island and 1'uovidence Plantations. 

(loiVat Ihis tljii^itious nttoiupt to disturb tho ]Mil>lic' po;u'o. by provnilinsx 
ii[n)n Ibi^ assoinbly of your proviuoo to take uo notioo of it, whioh will 
1h' tri>atinu' it with the contciupt it dosoi'vos". The r«>p]y to this f.'ou\- 
nuuul was lUH'isivo. patriotic ami suiiuostivo of Khode Island indo|HMul- 
oni'i\ "On the contrary, that letter appeal's to this Assembly to 
contain not only a just re[n'osoutation o\' (Hir liriovauees. and an 
invitation to unite in humble, doeout and loyal addresses to the throne 
for redress, but also sentiments of the li'reatest loyalty to llis INIajesty, 
of veneration for his hiiih eourt of Parliament, o\' attaehment to the 
British constitution, and of atVecti(Ui to the motluM' country. 
Therefore, this Assembly, instead o\' treatiui:- that letter with any 
deirree of I'outempt, think themselves obliiicd. in duty to themselves 
and to their country, to approvi> the si'utiments contained in it".^ 

This resp«Hise from Khodi> Island, as well as from all o\' the other 
ciWonies. was emphatic \'ov resistance to tyranny. At the same time, 
repeateil counuunicatiims were sent by the iiciuu-al assembly to Parlia- 
ment expressive oi' the most sincere ami unfailiuii' loyalty, proviiled 
the obimxious measures were abolished. The Massachusetts circular 
letter met with unu'h favtu- in Kbtule Islaiul. On September lb, I7b8, 
an address to the Kiuii was drawn up. in which the colonial grievances 
were iiiven and the opinion hazarded that the late acts of Parliament 
imposing iluties and taxes in America were not for the regulation o\' 
eonunerce. biit \'ov the express purpose of obtaining mmu\v. These 
spirited replies did not engender any too good feeling between the 
home ginerumeut and the colonies. 

Meanwliile the olVensive duties had gone into elVect, but the fearless 
spirit of the colonists aiui their former disregard of revenue laws led 
to frequent friction with the English custom ofrtcers. One cd' the very 
earliest instances occurred in Hhoch' Island, in Jidy. 17(!JK The 
British armed sloop Liberty, Taj^tain William Heid. was cruising 
about the bay and Long Island Souuil, seeking contrabauil traders. 
On the 17th she brought into Newi^ort two (^(Uinecticut vessels on 
suspicion of illicit traile. In an altercation between some of the 
Liberty's crew and the captain of one oi' the cai^tured ships, the latter 
was maltreated aiul his binit tired upon by the Liberty, (^u the same 
evening Keid was on the wharf, when the citizens forced him to order 
his men, with tlie exception of the first ot^cer. on shore. This accom- 
plislied. a party boarded the vessel, sent the ot^icer aslmre, cut the j 

'/\'. /. r. K. vi. 541. 5GS. Hillsborou.uh's lottor is dated Apr. IM. ITOS. and 
the Rhode Island reply Sept. IT. 



T/n-. I'KKiob OF C'oi,oNiAi> Rebihtance, 221 

(•h\)\<: hii(\ sf:ul1l*-d thf; slortf) rtn tfic I'oint. Ilcr hofits wr;rf; curri'-d 1o 
1hi<; upper f-nd of tiio t(»\v'n unrj burncfl. In tfi<- rnfunlirrK; the, two 
(.'oririf;c1,iciit vesselH escaped. Oovernor Wanton i.ssijed n proehirnation 
for- the arrest of the oflf'enders, but without effect. This was not in 
itself a i/n-Hl d'-r-d, but it stunds in history »s the first oveH, act of the 
i/n[>endinf.' revolution.' 

It was found much nif>re rjiffieult tf) adhere to the n'jn-irnportation 
a^rreements than If; make thern. 'J'he private inter<;sts of merchants 
throughout the whoh; country often {rot the better of their patriotism. 
Providence was oblif^ed to take enerf^etic rneaxures, and on <^)ctober 10, 
17G9, the merchants of the tr^wn pledj^ed themselves to maintain the 
Mf.'reements made until e.vary portion of the revenue act should be 
repealed.^ In Newport the matter was much more serious. That 
t/iwn, almost from its very establishment, had shown strong? royalist 
tendencies. Althou^rh in the prew^nt crisis the j^reat majority stood 
firm ajrainst kin?.' and parliament, there was a small fraction, (.gradually 
cominjr to be called Tories, which adhered to the royal cause. On 
October 'iO, 17f>9, the rnerchanti* of the town "entered into a very 
spirited and constitutional af^reement of non-importation", to continue 
until every duty w«s repealed.'' Jiut this [patriotic be<rinninf< was soon 
defeated by rumors of a repeal of the revenue act, which induced the 
Xewpf>rters to set aside their ai.'reement. The Providence merchants, 
who had in the meanwhile voted to "harmonize with the other colonies 
in their united ajn-eements ", were much incensed, and the town passed 
a vote of censure upon Newport. For some reason the imprrjssion 
irained {rround that i'rovidence had departed from non-impoKation. 
Several towns refu.sed her ves.sels port entry, while the t/>wn of Wind- 
ham, Connecticut, published a spirited protest. This angered the 

'8<;e Xewport Mercury, .July 24, ITfili; Prr/v, Gazette, .July 22, IT^JIi; K. /. C. 
/;. vi, ."/j4. An account of t,ti<; g'lneral friction «;xiHtinj< bctw*;';n tJ^if; coIonJHtK 
arifl the revenue ofRcerH l«, given in G. C. MstHon'H liritinh fleet in Ithode Inland 
> It. I. H. H. Coll. vli, 301. j 

==Proi;. Gazette, Oct. 14, Oct. 21, 1709. 

"Sev.port Mercury, Nov. G, 17f;9, A few monthH prevIouB a patriotic f;<^>rn- 
rnunication to tlie Mercury of Fhhjnmry 13, 17f>!), Haid: 

"I hope the gentlemen who fill the several offices in this Colony will rfj-om- 
mend thernnelveH t/j their conHtituentH by enry^uraging and patronizing our 
own manufactureH, and f arn ho much in eameKt t/j gave my country from ruin, 
that I am resolved if I live, let others do what they will, not to give my vot>; 
for any of the candidat>;H at the ensuing election who do not appear princi- 
pally clothed in cloth, made either in this colony or Sf^rne part of Arner1f;a. 
Let a man's zeal for his country appear ever so flaming, if he is attired in 
foreign fineries, f can't believe his patriotism is sincere, for his very apparel 
gives hirn the He." 



222 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Providence merchants, who considered themselves as sufferers for the 
conduct of another town. One irate writer in the Providence Gazette, 
in language more forcible than elegant, exclaimed: "The distinct 
parts of this Colony have been unhappily blended together, whereby 
we have suft'ered for the crimes of our neighbors. The merchants of 
Newport broke through the agreement, and were highly censured by 
the northern part of the Colony; the Town of Providence, 'tis well 
known, passed a vote of censure against them, which they affected to 
ridicule, in a very awkward manner. 'Tis with pleasure I observe, 
that none of the Colonies have passed any censures upon this Town 
in particular; this was reserved for the little, dirty, insignificant 
Town of AVindham, in Connecticut, the inhabitants of which, without 
the least shadow of reason, have dared publicly to stigmatize a people, 
than whom none have been more zealous in supporting the cause of 
American liberty".^ 

Parliament had, indeed, rescinded the duty on everything but tea 
in April, 1770. But there was no attempt to lighten the acts of trade, 
and the abstract right to taxation was fully retained. For about two 
years there was a period of comparative calm. Sources of irritation 
there certainly were, but the colonists hoped for a peaceful adjustment 
of all matters. The enforcement of the revenue laws finally gave rise 
to armed hostility. In June, 1772, occurred an act of violence in 
Narragansett Bay, whereby a royal ship of war was captured and 
sunk, and the first British blood of the Revolution was shed. His 
Majesty's schooner Gaspee, in command of Lieutenant Duddingston, 
had long annoyed the commerce of Newport and Providence, In 
interpreting the performance of his duty too strictly, he had detained 
unoffensive vessels, plundered the people on shore, and illegally used 
Massachusetts instead of Rhode Island courts. Exasperated by what 
they deemed violations of the law, the Rhode Island colonists Avere in 
a mood to take extreme measures. On the night of June 9, 1772, the 
Gaspee, in chasing a packet sloop up the Bay, grounded on Namquit 
Point. The patriots of Providence, hearing of this, resolved to attack 
the British vessel. A party of armed men quickly gathered. About 

'Prov. Gazette. June 80, 1770. See also Idem. May 26, 1770, and Neivport 
Mercury. June 4, 1770. Styles in his Diary, i, .54, alludes to the Newport vio- 
lation as an instance liow "five or six Jews and three or four Tories may draw 
down vengeance upon a country". The Newport merchants, in the meantime, 
had reverted to their former non-importation agreement, and the merchants of 
Boston voted that "the town of Providence had faithfully adhered to the non- 
importation agreement, and that all reports to the contrary are without found- 
ation". {Idem, Sept. 15, 1770.) 



The Period of Colonlyi. Resistance. 223 

midnight they boarded the vessel, wounding some of her officers, and 
finally left her to burn to the water's edge. This high-handed act 
greatly incensed the royal government. Large rewards were offered 
to convict the perpetrators and a commission was quickly appointed 
to inquire into the matter. But the colony authorities were indiffer- 
ent, and even independent, and accordingly nothing was accom- 
plished.^ The Avhole transaction excited much interest throughout the 
country, particularly as the ministerial scheme of sending accused 
persons to England for trial was regarded as an encroachment upon 
colonial rights. As Samuel Adams said in referring to the incident, 
"An attack on one colony is an attack on all."- 

Lord Dartmouth succeeded Hillsborough in 1773, but this made 
little change in conditions on this side of the Atlantic. All through 
that year opposition to the King gained in force and intensity.^ The 
initiatory movement early in March in Boston to create a union of 
the towns in that province, with a view toward ultimate union of the 
colonies, was approved by Virginia, and steps were taken for the 
appointment of conmiittees of correspondence.* These measures were 
very important as foreshadowing the later American Congress first 
proposed in Rhode Island. 

The tea duty, the remnant of the Townshend taxation acts, still 
remained to invoke colonial opposition. On December 16, 1773, the 
famous Boston Tea Party emptied several hundred chests of the 
offensive article into the waters of Boston Harbor, and elsewhere in 
the country pronounced enmity was shown. Rhode Island adopted 

'The destruction of the Gaspee is referred to in greater detail in the chap- 
ter on The Wars and the Militia. The documentary history of the matter can 
be found in R.I.C.R.vii, 55-192 (reprinted as Bartlett's Destruction of the Gas- 
pee) ; Staples, Destruction of the Gaspee: R. I. H. S. Proc. 1890-91, p. 80; R. I. 
H. 8. Publ. vii, 238; Arnold, ii, 318; Prov. Gazette. June 13, 1772. 

-Well's Life of S. Adams, ii, 15. 

■'In the Newport Mercury of Jan. 18, 1773, a Boston writer used the follow- 
ing language: "My own opinion is this, that no people on earth have a right 
to make laws for the Americans but themselves. . . Truth and common 
sense will at last prevail, and if the Britons continue their endeavors much 
longer to subject us to their government and taxation, we shall become a sep- 
arate state". These sentiments were general throughout the colonies. 

^The Rhode Island Committee of Correspondence consisted of Stephen 
Hopkins, Metcalf Bowler. Moses Brown, John Cole, William Bradford, Henry 
Marchant, and Henry Ward. In the letter from the Speaker of the Rhode 
Island House of Representatives to the Virginia House of Burgesses, May 15, 
1773, was the declaration that "nothing less than a firm and close union of the 
colonies in the most spirited, prudent and consistent measures can defeat the 
designs of those who are aiming to deprive them of their inestimable rights 
and privileges". The same sentiment appears in various other correspondence 
of that period. (See R. I. C. R. vii, 227.) 



224 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

prompt measures in full sympathy with the attitude of Boston, New 
York, and Philadelphia. The first meeting in this colony for the 
consideration of the subject was held in Newport early in January, 
1774, and another followed in Providence.^ Similar gatherings were 
held during the month of February in most or all of the towns. The 
Providence meeting adopted the following: "We, the freemen of the 
town of Providence, legally assembled in meeting, cannot be silent on 
so interesting and alarming an occasion. Should we, in this case, 
omit to assert and express the firmest resolutions to vindicate our 
rights, it might be construed as a cession of them into the hands of 
those who have wantonly evaded them in this instance." Further 
resolutions against permitting the landing of tea in the port, and 
applauding the action of the populace in Boston Harbor were also 
adopted. The Bristol meeting went even further in saying that, since 
the charter was broken, the people might "in time be provoked to 
renounce their allegiance and assert an independency ".- 

The defiance and the daring resistance of the American colonies 
created a great division of feeling in England. Although many 
recognized the American grievances and recommended conciliation,-^ 
Parliament took the unwise course of passing illegal laws to punish 
these American acts of resistance. In 1774 it passed five coercive 
acts, one prohibiting all commercial intercourse with the port of 
Boston, another requiring that "persons questioned for any acts in 
execution of the law" should be sent to England for trial, and another 
for quartering soldiers in America. 

'A Newport news item in the Providence Gazette of January 8, 1774, says: 
"We can assure the public, that a lady in this town, of affluent circumstances, 
and equal to any one in it for good sense, politeness and consequence, last 
week came to the resolution to have no India tea drank in her family, until 
the duty is taken off." 

-R. I. C. R. vii, 272-280. 

^Catharine Macaulay, the English historian and a strong Whig, in a letter 
to Henry Marchant of October, 1774, thus voices the Whig feeling in England 
at the time: "The situation of England and her colonies is grown very alarm- 
ing and critical. You undoubtedly saw enough of this country on your last 
visit to be convinced that no degree of public virtue exists in the generality of 
Englishmen. Some few amongst us yet retain sentiments worthy a Roman 
breast, and those few wait with all the anxiety which the possession of fear 
and hope occasion, and the determinations of America, determination which in 
their opinion will either establish the power of our despots on a permanent 
basis, or lead to the recovery of our almost lost liberties. As you read the 
English papers, it may perhaps be needless to inform you that my brother 
Lawbridge has strenuously defended the rights of America through the whole 
last session of Parliament, and even in some points when almost every mem- 
ber of the House was against him", (From a copy in the the R. I. H. S. 
Library.) 



The Period of Colonial Kesistance. 225 

A union of the colonies in some form was now the chief subject of 
discussion, and the officials and private citizens of Rhode Island were 
among the foremost advocates of the measure. The first proposal by 
any political body that such a congress should be called emanated from 
the town of Providence, which, at a meeting, on May 17, 1774, in- 
structed her deputies to "use their influence at the approaching 
session of the General Assembly of this Colony, for promoting a 
congress, as soon as may be, of the reprsentatives of the General 
Assemblies of the several colonies and provinces of North America, 
for establishing the firmest union ; and adopting such measures as to 
them shall appear the most effectual to answer that important purpose ; 
and to agree upon proper methods for executing the same".^ A few 
days later the Virginia House of Burgesses formally recommended 
the plan. The Ehode Island assembly, on June 14, took action favor- 
ing the Congress and appointed delegates— Stephen Hopkins and 
Samuel Ward — to attend such a convention.^ During this same 
session sympathy was expressed for the people of Boston, stricken by 
commercial isolation, and future aid was promised them. This sym- 
pathy produced practical results in substantial subscriptions from the 
several Rhode Island towns during many succeeding months.^ 

That American statesmen now foresaw war is indicated by military 
preparations on every hand. The act was passed by the general 
assembh^ at the June session, 1774, establishing the Providence Light 
Infantry. This was followed by a more general act in October, ap- 
pointing a committee to consider petitions for the establishment of 
independent companies in Providence, Newport, East Greenwich, and 
other towns. In December a part of the armament of Fort George was 
ordered to be removed to Providence, and at the same session a Train 
of Artillery was established in Providence and armed, and the pur- 
chase of quantities of ammunition was ordered. Other companies 
authorized were the Scituate Hunters, the Providence Artillery, the 
Providence Fusileers, and the North Providence Rangers. At the 

'/?. /. C. R. vii, 280. See also Staples, R. I. in the Continental Congress, 
p. 10, and Foster's Stephen Hopkins, ii, 232. 

-R. I. C. R. vii, 246. Thus Rhode Island was the first assembly to make an 
express call for a congress and also the first to appoint delegates. Many of 
the other colonies, however, were preparing similar legislation at the same 
time. To Massachusetts belongs the honor of fixing the time and place of 
meeting. Rhode Island's participation in the Congress which assembled in 
Philadelphia, Sept. 5, 1774, is traced in Staples's R. I. in the Continental Con- 
gress, p. 14-21. 

^See R. I. C. R. vii, 283; /, Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. iv, 1-278; and Bates, R. I. 
and the formation of the Union, p. 52-53. 

15-1 



226 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

December session, also, an act was passed "regulating the militia of 
this colony"/ Early in the course of events it was seen that one of 
the principal difficulties of the patriot army would be to obtain 
firearms, and measures were adopted for their manufacture at home. 
Both small arms and cannon were turned out and manj^ of the recently 
formed companies were supplied by Rhode Island manufacturers.- 

The 1st of March, 1775, was the day on which the use of British 
tea was to be wholly proscribed. The long-existing sentiment through- 
out the colony on this subject was aroused to an enthusiasm that was 
not exceeded even in Boston,^ and a striking exhibition was planned 
in Providence. The Gazette of March 4 contained the following: 
"On the 2nd the Town Cryer gave this notice: 'At five of the Clock 
this Afternoon, a Quantity of India Tea will be burnt in the Market 
Place. All true Friends of their Country, Lovers of Freedom, and 
Haters of Shackles and Hand-cuffs, are hereby invited to testify their 
good Disposition, by bringing in and casting into the Fire, a needless 
Herb, which for a long Time, hath been highly detrimental to our 
Liberty, Interest, and Health'." At the appointed time a fire was 
started on Market square and upon it was cast a tar barrel, a copy of 
Lord North's speech and other objectionable material. Women and 
men brought their tea to the extent of about 300 pounds and fed the 
rising flames. The Gazette said there was "great cheerfulness in 
committing to destruction so pernicious an article", and continued: 
"Whilst the Tea was burning, a spirited Son of Liberty went along 
the streets with his brush and lampblack, and obliterated or unpainted 
the word TEA on the shop signs." 

From this time forward the march of events was rapid. The 
continuance of the repressive acts and the presence of British troops 
at Boston placed a premium on friction. A second Congress was 
preparing to raise a military force and proposing methods of com- 
bination. It only needed a slight action to kindle the smouldering 
spirit of resentment into the fierce flame of revolution. On April 19, 
1775, British assumption of authority was met with armed opposition. 
At Lexington and Concord the momentous struggle had begun. 

'R. I. C. R. vii, 247. 258, 260-264; Arnold, ii, 342-344. For a list of chartered 
companies, see Smith's Civil and Military List, p. 658. 

-A Newport item in the Providence Gazette of Feb. 11, 1775, said: "A 
number of excellent fire-arms, manufactured in this colony, have lately been 
brought here, and sold; others are making in different parts of the Colony, 
particularly a large quantity in Pawtucket." 

'In the Newport Mercury of Feb. 14, 1775, appeared an item describing how 
a countryman fell into the dock while carrying a bag of tea. The item con- 
cluded thus: "Be cautious how you travel with this baneful article about 
you; for the salt water seems of late to attract it as a loadstone attracts iron." 



CHAPTER XV. 
RHODE ISLAND IN THE REVOLUTION. 

The news of Lexington reached Providence on the evening of the 
battle. The people at once assembled, and the citizens and military- 
officers held a meeting. Two expresses were sent to Lexington, who 
returned with the details of the event, and the troops in Providence 
-and neighboring towns stood ready to march wherever they might be 
needed. A special session of the assembly was held on April 22, and 
it was voted that 1,500 men "be raised and embodied, properly armed 
and disciplined, to continue in this colony, as an army of observation, 
to repel any insult or violence that may be offered to the inhabitants. 
And also, if it be necessary for the safety and preservation of any of 
the colonies, to march out of this colony and join and co-operate with 
the forces of the neighboring colonies".^ This resolution was publicly 
opposed and dissented from in the upper house by Governor Joseph 
Wanton, Deputy-Governor Darius Sessions, Thomas Wickes, and 
William Potter. The reasons for their action were thus expressed: 
"Because we are of the opinion that such a measure will be attended 
with the most fatal consequences to our charter privileges ; involve the 
country in all the horrors of a civil war ; and as we conceive, is an 
•open violation of the oath of allegiance which we have severally taken, 
upon our admission into the respective offices we now hold in the 
colony. ' ' But their protest was disregarded, and at the June session 
a long and elaborate code of rules and regulations for this "army of 
-observation" was drawn up and published. 

W^anton's bold opposition to the measures of resistance adopted by 
the assembly resulted in heroic action. The annual election of 1775 
had resulted in his re-election as governor; but when on May 3 the 
time came for his installation into the chair, he pleaded sickness, and 
instead addressed to the assembly a letter recommending calmness and 
■deliberation. That body, however, was in no mood for conciliation, 

^R. I. C. R. vii, 310. 



228 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

and voted that the Deputy-Governor and his assistants be "forbidden 
to administer the oath of office to the said Joseph Wanton, Esq., unless 
in free and open General Assembly, according to the unvaried practice 
in this Colony, and w^ith the consent of such Assembly ; that until the 
said Joseph Wanton, Esq., shall have taken the oath of office, as afore- 
said, it shall be unlawful for him to act as Governor of this Colony, in 
any case, whatever". The charges made against him were that he had 
made a protest reflecting on the action of the assembly, that he had 
neglected to issue a fast-day proclamation, that he had failed to 
qualify as Governor, and that he had refused to sign commissions for 
the recently appointed Rhode Island officers. AVanton attempted to 
justify his course, but his explanations were not satisfactory, and in 
October the office of Governor was declared vacant.^ Nicholas Cooke, 
the patriot Deputy-Governor, was elected in his place. 

In discussing the patriotic measures taken by our ancestors during 
the period just previous to the Revolution, we are apt to throw dis- 
credit on the many loyalists who, like Governor AVanton, believed the 
British acts to be oppressive, but saw only disaster in offering armed 
opposition. No just view of the Revolution can be obtained unless the 
great strength of this loyalist element is recognized. AVhile the great 
majority of A.mericans stood firm against King and Parliament, a very 
large minority — perhaps one-third of the whole population of the 
country — were directly opposed to armed resistance. They belonged 
chiefly to the influential merchant class, men who were perhaps on a 
higher social and educational grade than their fellows, and who also 
feared a war that would utterly destroy their profitable commerce. 
Except in advising revolution, they often showed as patriotic a spirit 
as the most ardent sons of liberty. Governor AVanton, for instance, 
had told a British admiral who tried to show him the path of his duty : 
"Please to be informed that I do not receive instructions for the 
administration of my government from the King's Admiral stationed 
in America".- Many other of his utterances exhibit his absolutely 
independent attitude toAvard British despotism. But when the 
Revolution actually broke forth, the necessity of union required that 
all divisions of opinion should be subordinated to the public good. 
The patriots uprose and, through their preponderance in numbers and 
organized party strength, either forced or frightened the loyalists into 
silence. 

'R. I. C. R. vii, 325, 332, 393. 
-R. I. C. R. vii, 63. 



Rhode Island in tpie Revolution. 229 

In Rhode Island, as elsewhere in the country, this Tory element was 
a very important factor in the oncoming conflict. As they came to 
be a source of trouble and irritation to the patriots, they were given 
to understand that public acts or expressions favorable to England 
would not be tolerated. One of the early incidents of this phase of 
the Revolution was the threatened destruction of the village of East 
Greenwich by a mob of some hundreds of citizens, on account of 
treatment to which a resident of that place had been sub- 
jected for propagating principles unfriendly to American liberty.^ At 
Newport, the loyalist party was especially predominant, and even 
after the beginning of the war, gained in numbers and strength. 
Governor Cooke explained this fact in a letter of July 8, 1775, to 
General Greene, from whom he received this reply : "I received your 
favor of the 8th of this instant from which I learn that the Tory party 
gains ground in Newport. May God defeat their wicked councils and 
scatter their collected force. It is very surprising that the once highly 
respected town of Newport for liberty, spirit and freedom, should be 
willing to bow down their necks with base submission to the galling 
yoke of tyranny".- This lack of patriotic sentiment was undoubtedly 
due to the presence of the enemy's vessels in Newport Harbor, as well 
as to social and commercial conditions. When the news of Lexington 
arrived in Newport in April, 1775, Captain Wallace, of the English 
man-of-war Rose, gave out the information that if Newport took part 
with Providence and New England, he would "lay the town in ashes". 
Yet in spite of this threat, two companies of patriots were raised to 
join the army before Boston.^ 

At the October session of the assembly, 1775, an act was passed for 
the punishment of traitors and those guilty of supplying the "minis- 
terial army or navy" with provisions or arms, or of acting as pilots on 
the enemy's ships. The assembly was addressed on several later 
occasions by Tories who made petitions, declarations and confessions 
and sought absolution."* At the beginning of the Revolution they 
were fearless in their public utterances and acts, but as the struggle 
progressed they were held to strict accountability, and either relapsed 
into silence or fled the country, leaving their lands to be confiscated 
and sold. It is little wonder that Tories frequently reckoned upon an 

'Prov. Gazette, Sept. 17, 1774. 
-R. I. H. 8. Coll. vi. 114. 
^Stiles's Diary, i, 536, 540, 561, 562. 

*ie. I. C. R. vii, 388, 397, 413-14. See also J. N. Arnold, Rebel Treatment of 
Tories during the Revolution in Narr. Hist. Reg. vol. 3, 4. 



230 State of Ehode Island and Providence Plantations. 

early and disastrous overthrow of the patriot cause. ^ During the 
whole long struggle there Avere many periods Avhen freedom seemed 
far away in the future. 

During all of the remainder of the year 1775 military and naval 
preparations for defence of the colony and for participation in the 
expected w^ar, progressed in every direction. The inception of the 
American navy Avas established in June by act of assembly, ordering 
the charter of two vessels, to be fitted out, armed and manned. These 
were named the Washington and the Katy, and Abraham Whipple, 
who had already proved his naval prowess,- was made "commander, 
with the rank and power of Commodore of both vessels".'* In the 
same month, after Congress had adopted measures for establishing the 
army, Washington was made commander-in-chief, and one of the four 
major-generals appointed was the patriot son of Rhode Island, 
Nathanael Greene. 

In May, 1775, when a body of American troops numbering about 
16,000 were encamped on Jamaica Plains, near Boston, the Rhode 
Island army of observation, with the train of artillery and a siege 
battery, marched thither before June 1. General Gage's proclamation 
of martial law, on June 12, was followed on the 17th by the battle of 
Bunker Hill, and the country at large foresaw a long and exhausting 
conflict. Rhode Island immediately took steps to place herself on the 
strongest possible war footing. Governor Cooke had already acted 
upon the request of the general assembly, and on the 12th issued a 
proclamation, "commanding every man in the Colony, able to bear 
Arms, to equip himself with Arms and Ammunition, according to 
law". Committees Avere appointed to visit all the houses and take 
account of arms and ammunition, to be transmitted to Congress; all 
saltpetre and brimstone in the colony Avas ordered collected and for- 
warded to NcAv York : the garrison at Fort George Avas discharged and 
the remaining guns taken away ; a sentry post Avas stationed at Tower 
Hill in South KingstoAvn to give AA'arning of the approach of a fleet; 

'One of the Providence Tories wrote his friend in Plymouth as folloAvs: 
"The Rebel Game, I take it, will be up this Summer, when I fancy they will 
lose at a d — d Rate". Prov. Gazette, June 21, 1777. 

^Arnold, ii, 350. 

^R. I. C. R. vii, 347. Later in the year, in October, Congress fitted out 
several vessels, the whole fleet being put under the command of Esek Hopkins, 
a Rhode Island man. In December, Congress appointed a committee of one 
from each colony to organize and equip a navy, Stephen Hopkins serving as 
the Rhode Island member. (Foster's Hopkins, ii, 234.) For a detailed ac- 
count of the organization, equipment and service of this infant navy, see 
Field's Esek Hopkins. 



J 



Khode Island in the Revolution. 231 

minute men were enlisted and put under drill ; the entrance to 
Providence harbor was fortified and a beacon erected on Prospect Hill ; 
and six extra companies were ordered to join the army at Boston. 
Military activity prevailed on every hand.^ 

The situation in the fall of 1775 at Newport wa.s critical. Captain 
Wallace's fleet had so annoyed commerce, seized provisions, and 
threatened the town, that many of the inhabitants had moved away. 
Early in October, the arrival of four more vessels caused a menacing 
demand to be made upon the Island and Conanicut for live stock. A 
force of 600 militia under Esek Hopkins was sent to Newport to repel 
the expected attack. Consternation and anxiety prevailed ; many 
inhabitants fled ; the streets were thronged with laden vehicles, and all 
business was paralyzed. But Wallace apparently had no intention of 
destroying a town that might be of vast future importance to his 
country, and withdrew on the 7th, anchoring his fleet in Bristol harbor. 
After demanding that four magistrates be sent off to his fleet, which 
was refused, he bombarded the place for over an hour, driving many 
of the inhabitants away and damaging many buildings. After forcing 
the people to supply him with forty sheep he withdrew.- An evacua- 
tion of Newport ensued. Nearly three-quarters of the inhabitants, 
taking as much personal property as they could carry, removed to 
the upper end of the Island or to other parts of the colony. The 
Tories now assumed a prominent part in governing the town, and 
continued as an obstacle to the progress of liberty until the arrival of 
the British forces, in December, 1776, placed them in complete control.^ 

Realizing the value of Newport as a military position, the assembly 
made great exertion to provide for its defence. By January, 1776, 
nearly 1,500 militia were encamped around the town, throwing up 
fortifications and preparing for an expected attack. These extraor- 

^R. I. C. R. vii, 354-358. For an account of the erecting of fortifications 
around Providence, see Field's Rev. Defences of R. I. Difficulty was antici- 
pated in raising tlie required troops in this colony, and in pro- 
viding for home protection. Governor Cooke wrote Honorable James 
Warren, under date of June 26, 1775: "If our Assembly vote an addi- 
tional number of troops, you are sensible it will take time to raise and equip 
them. . . . Besides the forces in the field we are fitting out two armed 
vessels for the protection, of our trade. These exertions in our present dis- 
tressed state have nearly exhausted the Colony". {R. I. H. S. Coll. vi, 107.) 

-Newport Mercury, Oct. 9, 16, 1775; Prov. Gazette, Oct. 7, 14, 1775; and 
Stiles's Diary, i, 620-624. Field's Esek Hopkins, ch. ii, contains an account of 
the troubles at Newport at this period. 

^The Tory element was so powerful in Newport that it was feared that they 
would triumph over the Whigs in the election of 1776. The Mercury urged 
absent patriots to send proxy votes. {Newport Mercury, April 8, 1776.) 



232 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

diiiary preparations in her own defence, combined with the drain upon 
her population and resources in aiding the regular provincial army, 
left the colony in a much exhausted condition. Frequent letters were 
sent to Congress, to General Washington and others, requesting assist- 
ance. On January 21, 1776, Governor Cooke addressed General Lee, 
at New York, requesting his aid in procuring a body of troops to be 
stationed in the colony. "I shall only add", he continued, "that 
unless the continent defends the colony, it must be abandoned". A 
communication similar in tone was at the same time addressed to the 
Rhode Island delegates in Congress.^ But the necessity of concentrat- 
ing the American troops where operations were actually in progress 
forbade the sending of reinforcements to Rhode Island until an attack 
was really made. Not disheartened by the inability to procure outside 
assistance, the colony continued in its active military preparations. 
The assembly, at the session of March, 1776, passed an act for the 
purchase of ' ' two thousand stand of good firearms, with bayonets, iron 
ramrods and cartouch boxes", for the use of this colony.- Still 
another important legislative act was passed at that time for "en- 
couraging the fixing out, and authorizing armed vessels, to defend the 
scacoast of America, and for erecting a court to try and condemn all 
vessels that shall be found infesting the same". This opened the way 
for the later operations of a great swarm of privateers, which were 
such an important factor in the war, and for the condemnation and 
sale of their prizes. 

On May 4, 1776, the Rhode Island assembly passed an act of the 
greatest importance to the welfare of the colony and the nation. By 
a formal statute, and with but six dissenting votes, she absolutely 

'R. I. C. R. vii, 424, 444-451, 471. 

"R. I. C. R. vii, 477. At this point it is pertinent to notice the distribution 
of troops for the defense of the colony, as prescribed by a committee appointed 
by the assembly in March: "That one company be placed at Point Judith; 
one company at Boston Neck, between Narrow River and South Ferry; one 
company, at Quanset Point, in North Kingstown; one company, at Pojack 
Point, in North Kingstown; and Potowomut Neck, in Warwick; one company, 
at Warwick Neck; half a company, at Pawtuxet, in Cranston; one company, at 
Barrington; two companies, at Bristol; one company, at Bristol Ferry, on 
Rhode Island side; and one-third of said company, on Tiverton side; one com- 
pany, in Tiverton and Little Compton, near Fogland Ferry; four companies 
and a half, on the Island of Jamestown; and the remainder of the troops, 
being seven companies, together also with the artillery company, at head- 
quarters, on Rhode Island". The committee commend the fortification of 
Bristol Ferry and the erection of a fort "on the Tonomy Hill, on Rhode 
Island" (near Newport). These recommendations, with slight change, were 
adopted. (R. I. C. R. vii, 492.) For muster rolls of companies located at 
various points, consult Field's Revolutionary Defences in Rhode Island. 



Rhode Island in the Revolution. 233 

renounced her allegiance to Great Britain. For many months the 
sentiment of independence had been growing throughout the country. 
In the newspapers, in letters, and in public speeches can be traced the 
opinion of those who advised that the connection between the colonies 
and the mother country should be severed. For Rhode Island, how- 
ever, Avas reserved the honor of being the first colonial legislature to 
renounce allegiance. It was further declared by the act, that all 
commissions, writs and other legal documents should henceforth be 
issued in the name of the colony and not of the King.^ Two months 
later, on July 4, 1776, Congress responded to the public sentiment by 
adopting a solemn Declaration of Independence. The Rhode Island 
assembly, at the July session, immediately voted its formal approval 
of the instrument, made preparation for its reception with a discharge 
of thirteen cannon, and engaged to "support the said General Con- 
gress with our lives and fortunes". The records of the session were 
terminated Avith the prayer "God save the United States". 

The act abjuring allegiance to Great Britain seems to have had a 
good effect upon the Tory element in Newport, as is indicated in a letter 
from Governor Cooke to Washington, May 6, 1776, in which he wrote : 
"I have the satisfaction to inform Your Excellency, that at a very 
full town meeting of the inhabitants of Newport, held last Monday, it 
was unanimously voted, to enter into the defense of the town ; and last 
Thursday, a considerable body of them began work upon the fort to 
be erected upon Brenton's Point. This happy event, I have great 
hopes will make us a united people, and root up every seed of disaffec- 
tion in the colony".- Little consideration, in fact, was now being 
shown to those who still adhered to the royal cause. The assembly, 
at the June session, passed an act providing that all persons suspected 
of disloyalty, should be requested to sign a declaration of their belief 
in the justice of the American cause, and that they would not in nay 
manner aid the enemy. To this was added a law at the next session 
that no one should have the liberty of voting until he had subscribed 
to the test oath.'' 

^R. I. C. R. vii, 522. Staples, R. I. in the Continental Congress, p. 68. 

■R. I. C. R. vii, 545. Rev. Ezra Stiles, under the date of May 3, thus com- 
ments on this meeting: "I understand that Admiral Hopkins, etc., assembled 
a town meeting at Newport last Monday to vote whether they would assist in 
defending the town and working on the lines, and in case of refusal or dissat- 
isfaction with the works and fortifications carrying on there, then he would 
remove and carry off all the cannon and leave them defenseless. In a full 
meeting they voted to assist Wonderful! Where were the Tories?" (Stiles's 
Diary, ii, 12.) 

'R. I. C. R. vii, 567, 589. 



234 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 

These restrictions, and especially the knowledge that they were liable 
to a fine of £100, made the Tories somewhat more chary of declaring 
their opinions. The arrest of suspected persons became a frequent 
occurrence. In July several who had refused to take the test oath 
were removed, at their own expense, to be placed under surveillance, 
and three others who refused to pay the cost of removal were sent to 
the Providence jail.^ These stringent measures were generally suffi- 
cient to prevent overt acts of encouragement to the enemy. 

The situation of Washington's army near New York, in August, 
1776, was most critical, and a battle with overwhelming numbers of 
the enemy was imminent. In this emergency the Rhode Island assem- 
bly, on September 2, voted to send the whole of the State brigade to 
his relief. The departure of these troops left the State defenceless 
and the people filled with anxiety. A committee was appointed to 
visit Washington, explain the situation here and consult as to methods 
of defence. The committee took the strong ground that they appre- 
hended Rhode Island and Newport would have to be abandoned.- But 
the situation was relieved for the time being by the arrival of a 
regiment from Massachusetts and the enlistment in this State of 
another regiment, to serve for three months. The evacuation of New 
York and Long Island late in August was a cause of renewed anxiety 
in both Rhode Island and Connecticut, which was deepened by the 
general military outlook as the year drew to a close. 

Rhode Island, on account of the favorable situation of her chief 
tOAvn, was now destined to realize the calamities of war to her full 
share. Early in December, 1776, the enemy's fleet, consisting of seven 
ships of line, four frigates, and a large number of transports, with 
about 5,000 troops, entered the Bay, and on the 8th landed one regi- 
ment of troops at Newport, and the main body of the army in Middle- 
town. After a night of pillage there the whole force marched into 
Newport, where they took possession in the King's name.^ The land- 
ing of such an army created consternation throughout New England 
and prompt and active measures were adopted for the common defence. 
Governor Cooke quickly convened the assembly. A Council of War 

^R. I. C. R. vii, 593-598. Stiles's Diary, ii, 22, and ii, 131, where he enumer- 
ates the Tories in Newport in December, 1776. For further lists of Tories, see 
R. I. C. R. ix, 139, and Newport MS. Town Records, 1779-1816, p. 8. The New 
York Public Library has among its "American Loyalist Papers", copies of 
Rhode Island claims taken from English records. (See its Library Bulletin 
for December, 1900.) 

'R. I. C. R. vii, 606. See postscript of letter from Washington to Governor 
Cooke, Sept. 17, 1776, in Idem, p. 625. 

'See Prov. Gazette, Dec. 14, 1776, Stiles's Diary, ii, 95, R. I. C. R. viii, 112. 



Rhode Island in the Revolution. 235 

was appointed, consisting of nine men, and a call was sent to Massa- 
chusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut for military aid and for 
the appointment of committees to meet for consultation upon the 
emergent situation. The American troops, to the number of 600, left 
the Island, going into a camp at Tiverton and Bristol. The Conven- 
tion of committees met the Rhode Island Council in Providence on 
the 25th, and it was resolved to concentrate an army of about 6,000 
in this State, of which Rhode Island was to furnish an entire brigade. 
In accordance therewith the assembly voted that two regiments, 
consisting of seven hundred and fifty men each, and one regiment of 
artillery consisting of five companies of sixty men each, should be 
raised, "for the defense of this, and the other United States".^ 

The two regiments whose term had about expired were disbanded 
so that they might enlist in the new brigade. Washington disapproved 
of raising this brigade, fearing it would interfere with enlistments in 
the two battalions previously ordered from this state, and correspond- 
ence followed between him and Governor Cooke, the result of which 
was a withdrawal by the commander-in-chief of his objections.^ The 
call upon neighboring states was promptly answered. ^Massachusetts 
sent two brigades, besides a train of artillery, and from Connecticut 
came three regiments and five companies, with a small troop of 
cavalry. All these were quartered at strategic points on both sides of 
the Bay, and thus "the State and the Island were two great and 
hostile camps ".^ The outlook for the country at the close of this 
eventful year was not bright, but the victory in New Jersey in the 
early part of January, 1777, revived the hopes of all- patriots. 

For nearly three years the British army occupied Newport and 
Rhode Island, causing constant anxiety and the whole train of evils 
always attendant upon war. American trade on the Island was 

'R. I. C. R. vii, 58. 

=Cowell, Spirit of '76*, 127-133; R. I. C. R. viii, 114, 139-142. General Greene 
shared in this feeling, as expressed in a letter from him to Governor Cooke, 
written Feb. 1, 1777, in which he said: "If this great and national plan [of 
raising 88 battalions] is to be dispensed with by any particular State without 
the consent of the others, nothing but confusion and disorder will be the con- 
sequence. I cannot help thinking this an indirect breach of the Union, and 
have too much reason to believe it will be so considered by the other States". 
(R. I. Hist. Soc. Coll. vi, 184. See also his letter of Jan. 23, R. I. C. R. viii, 
115.) 

'Arnold, ii, 390. Stiles, in his Diary, ii, 141, under date of March 10, 1777, 
says: "There have been 5,000 troops around Narragansett Bay this winter. 
Now are 4,000 besides those returned last week. The State of Rhode Island 
has 2,500 militia on actual duty, 500 Rhode Island Continental Troops, and 500 
Massachusetts militia, 500 Connecticut militia." 



236 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

destroyed, property was plundered, and the remaining inhabitants 
who were not Tories, were maltreated. The British constructed forti- 
fications early in the year at Fogiand Perry and further north at 
Butt's Hill, while the Americans made such defensive provisions as 
were suggested by the situation. Washington sent Generals Arnold 
and Spencer to the assistance of the army in Rhode Island and in 
January they assumed full charge of operations. 

The attitude of the hostile forces on Rhode Island and the nearby 
shores was certain sooner or later to bring on a conflict. As a general 
war measure the military authorities considered such an event desir- 
able. On April 16 Congress recommended that the Rhode Island 
assembly collect all their forces at once and attack the enemy on the 
Island. Massachusetts and Connecticut were advised to give all the 
aid in their power to this movement. Washington appointed General 
Spencer in command of the proposed expedition, which was to be 
kept as secret as possible. Under these recommendations and the 
action of the assembly, and after long delay/ an army of about 10,000 
men was ready for the attack about the middle of October. The 
details of this expedition which, after so much preparation, resulted 
in failure, can best be told in the words of Dr. Ezra Stiles, to whose 
diary we so often turn for the narrative of Revolutionary events. In 
a letter to Henry Marchant, dated October 31, 1777, he says : 

"I inquired both of officers and men the reasons of the failure, and 
yesterday I met General Spencer and crossed the ferry with him to 
Providence. The General is full of anticipation and anxiety on the 
occasion. From him and them I learn that it is pretty generally 
agreed that things were not in readiness for the descent till the 19th 
instant. By this time the army became impatient, and an accident 
then took place which spread a general discontent and irrecoverable 
uneasiness through the army. I think none of them impeach the 
General of want of courage, while some conceive so momentous an 
enterprise and the command and ordering of ten thousand men above 
his capacity. The incident I allude to is this. 'Tis said that some of 
the chaplains raised scruples of conscience in some of the general 

'In March, 1777, the assembly, "being under great concern, that no attempt 
hath, as yet, been made against the enemy upon Rhode Island, which they 
consider as a great disgrace to New England in general, and to this State in 
particular", resolved that it be "strongly recommended to the Honorable 
Major General Spencer (if it be any way consistent with prudence), to make 
an attack upon the enemy at Rhode Island"; Governor Cooke, on April 14, 
1777, wrote Washington, "When your orders arrived for innoculating our two 
Continental battalions, we had an expedition on foot to Rhode Island, which 
was to have been made in two or three days". {R. I. C. R. viii, 215. See also 
Stiles's Diary , ii, 148.) 



Khode Island in the Revolution. 237 

/i-offieers against making the descent on the Lord's Day. The General 
told me that he was not influenced by those supposed scruples. How- 
ever, the imagination of these disgusted the army, especially as the day 
was exceedingly tine, and all things otherwise in readiness. This 
raised a clamor in the army, and the uneasiness was increased by the 
series of bad weather and succeeding storm which to the conviction 
of all was a just reason of preventing the descent, nor has there been 
suitable weather from the 19th till this day which is the first truly fair 
since. Had the army remained till this evening they might probably 
have begun November with a successful descent. But the discontent 
taking place and coming to an incontrollable height at the critical time, 
broke up the army, Ditference of sentiment also arose among the 
general officers in their Councils of War. It would have been happy 
had the General been possessed of more precision, determination and 
decisiveness of conduct. Firmness would have diffused another spirit 
through the army".^ 

The general assembly appointed a committee to investigate the 
causes of the failure of this expedition. A court of inquiry was 
accordingly held in Providence, November 15 ; its report exonerated 
General Spencer from blame and attributed the failure to delay on 
the part of Palmer's brigade in not having boats ready on the first 
night assigned for the attack, and to later unfavorable weather. In 
April of the following year, however, General Sullivan succeeded to 
the command in Rhode Island. In spite of this ineffectual attempt 
to bring on a battle, the British had not been entirely unmolested 
during the summer and fall of 1777. Frequent sorties and skirmishes 
resulted generally in minor American victories, and the daring and 
skillfully executed capture of the British General Prescott by Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Barton, early in July, brought fame to the captor and 
hope to his cause. - 

'From a copy of a hitherto unpublished letter in the R. I. Hist. Soc. Library. 
Dr. Stiles further says: "The Council of War consisted of General Spencer, 
Brigadier General Palmer, whose opinion was against a descent without 8 or 
9,000 men; Brigadier General Douglas; Brigadier General Lovell; Brigadier 
General Cornell; BrigadierGeneral Sherborn, Col. Commnd't, the last two firm 
for going on. The highest returns of the army were 8,333 about October 13th. 
The General told me they had boats sufficient to transport 5 or 6,000 at a time. 
The number of the King's troops on Rhode Island considered about 2,200, but 
General Spencer affirmates them 3,500. On Monday last, our army began to 
break up and vanish, being dispirited and giving up the enterprise. The 
General, perceiving this, was eager to go on and not lose the opportunity. On 
Tuesday, the 28th, a Council of War determined to go on if the muster should 
furnish 6,500 men. The muster proved only 5,000, and then it was determined 
to give up the enterprise." 

-For further details of this capture, see the chapter on military history. 
Original accounts are in Prov. Gazette. July 12, 1777; Cowell's Spirit of '16, 
p. 148, and Stiles's Diary, ii, 182. See also Diman, Capture of Prescott (R. I. 



238 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

The difficulty of keeping up the requisite supply of troops from 
this state and of properly providing for home defence increased rather 
than diminished. Desperate efforts were continued through the ff.ll 
of 1777, and Washington wrote several letters on the subject, not only 
to Rhode Island, but to the other states. The soldiers were neither 
adequately paid nor supplied with clothing, and accordingly enlist- 
ments were difficult to procure. So serious was the matter that 
General Varnum wrote home, ' ' The naked situation of the troops when 
observed parading for duty is sufficient to extort the tears of compas- 
sion from every human being". The winter of 1777-8 was a severe 
one upon the inhabitants of this state, as well as upon the troops in the 
field. In carrying out the taxation plan recommended by the Spring- 
field convention, Rhode Island was to raise $100,000. The assembly 
in December voted a tax of £48,000,^ and towards the last of the same 
month resolved to raise a brigade of 1,500 men to serve one year from 
the following March. This was, in fact, a re-enlistment of the existing 
forces as far as they were willing to serve. At about the same time, 
the British fleet arrived in the Bay for winter quarters, causing 
renewed alarm. An attack upon Providence was anticipated, many 
inhabitants left the place, the Council of War met daily, the beacon 
was made ready, and the surrounding country notified to prepare for 
defence. As the winter advanced, destitution and suffering increased, 
particularly among the refugees from Newport, of whom there were 
over 100 in Providence alone. An appeal was made through the press 
for aid, and the response was prompt and generous.- 

The year 1778 was the most important period of the Revolution in 
Rhode Island, as Avell as marking a crisis in the struggle throughout the 
country. The long standing antipathy of France toward England 
was about to be displayed in something more than expressions of 
friendliness and interest. After preliminary negotiations, two secret 
treaties were signed in Paris on February 6, one of them relating 
mainly to commercial relations, and the other for an active alliance 
between France and America contingent upon the beginning of war 

Hist. Tract, no. 1) ; C. R. Williams, Lives of Barton and Olney ; and C. J. 
Paul, Part home by Sergeant Paul in the capture of Prescott. Barton's own 
original narrative of the capture is in R. I. H. S. MS8, iii, 13. 

^The matter of the finances of the Revolution is neglected here, being 
treated in the Financial Chapter. During 1775 and 1776 Rhode Island had 
issued £150,000 in paper money. But the evil consequences arising from this 
system had led her, in December, 1776, to cease issuing bills and to rely upon 
loans and upon taxation. 

-Prov. Gazette, Jan. 10, 1778. 



240 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

between the French and the English. The consummation of these treat- 
ies caused great rejoicing throughout this country and was immensely 
influential upon her destiny.^ The British cabinet now assumed a 
different manner towards America and proposed measures of concilia- 
tion ; but they were indignantly rejected, as they would have left the 
country in a state of dependence. The patriots were resolved upon 
nothing short of freedom, and entered upon the campaign of 1778 with 
vigor and confidence. 

The British were still strongly intrenched on the Island of Rhode 
Island. They annoyed passing vessels, plundered the surrounding 
country for provisions, and occasionally made sorties with more hostile 
intent. On May 2-5 the towns of Warren and Bristol were made to 
feel the heavy hand of the enemy. Both of these tow^ns were visited 
by a force of about 600 men, who burned many buildings, pillaged 
stores, and capturing a number of prisoners, returned safely to New- 
port.- This raid demonstrated clearly the defenceless condition of 
the state. But public anxiety was somewhat allayed when the French 
fleet arrived off the Delaware capes early in July, and on the 29th 
twelve ships of the line and four frigates entered Narragansett Bay. 
On the following morning two of the French vessels sailed up to the 
north end of Conanicut, and the British garrison on that island with- 
drew to Newport, where the whole army was awaiting reinforcements. 
It was the British forces, instead of the Rhode Island patriots, who 
were now blockaded. The fear of the enemy was somewhat allayed. 
Plans were forming for a general attack upon Newport. Troops were 
assembling, and by the 1st of August Generals Greene and Glover had 
arrived to assist General Sullivan. 

During the month of August, 1778, plans were made comprehending 
an attack by the French fleet on the harbor side and an expedition of 
land forces from the northern end of the Island. The preparations 
were carried out upon a large scale. Washington sent two Continental 
brigades, volunteers poured in from all New England", and Rhode 
Island, by extraordinary eff'ort, contributed one-half of all the militia 
in the state. The whole army amounted to not less than 10,000 men. 
Sullivan was placed in chief command, aided by Marquis de Lafayette 
and General Greene. Since the British had less than 7,000 men, and 

'"Joy sparkles in every eye at the important news we have from France 
via Boston, and for a demonstration of the same, 13 pieces of cannon are to 
be discharged for each of the United States, and 13 pieces of cannon for each 
of the European powers who confirm our independence". — Letter from Will- 
iam Allen to Theodore Foster, May 3, 1778. {R. I. H. S. Coll. vi, 213.) 

-Prov. Gazette, May 30, 1778. 



Khode Island in the Revolution. 241 

since the whole attack was so well considered and planned, success 

seemed certain. On August 9 the American army began to cross over 

from Tiverton to the northern end of the Island, in order to co-operate 

with the French fi^et, Avhich in the meanwhile had been cannonading 

the British batteries. Late in the day, however, Lord Howe, with 

thirty-six British sail, appeared in sight, and D'Estaing, the French 

admiral, desisted from the attack on Rhode Islaaid to give him battle. 

A tremendous storm ensued which scattered both fleets. The Ameri- 

jcans continued operations without the aid of the French, and on 

August 15 began their advance upon the British. "While success was 

doubtful, confidence Avas restored by the sudden reappearance of the 

French fleet. But to the great consternation of the American officers, 

D'Estaing announced his intention of proceeding to Boston to refit. 

This he did, in spite of all remonstrances to the contrary. The army, 

through sickness and disaffection over the delay in proceedings, was 

now reduced to little more than 5,000 men. On August 28 a retreat 

iwas resolved upon, which, though conducted in a masterly manner, 

[decided the fate of this unsuccessful and unfortunate expedition.^ 

I The remainder of the year 1778 passed in comparative quiet in 

[military afl'airs in Rhode Island. General Sullivan remained in 

I command of the remnant of the American troops until the arrival of 

General Gates in April of the following year. As a result of the 

state's great exertions, many of the inhabitants were in great destitu- 

,tion, and the suffering continued through the ensuing winter. The 

i prices of all kinds of provisions and other household necessities were 

abnormally high, and there was great scarcity of food stuff, as well 

, as of money. The Continental paper currency was rapidly approach- 

jing worthlessness and the state treasury was empty. Under date of 

I Providence, August 31, 1778, Paul Allen wrote Governor Bowen : 

"The universal cry for Bread is very alarming in our streets. I 

: believe I speak within bounds when I tell you that there are a hundred 

families in the Town who have not a mouthful of bread in their 

houses, nor can they get it with their money. Whenever a bushel of 

corn is brought in from the country, the owner extorts from the poor 

purchaser eight dollars— and were he to ask twenty he would get it— to 

remedy which I made application this day to the Council of War to 

j ^This expedition has been briefly treated, since it is fully discussed in the 
Military Chapter. Printed references to the battle may be found in the bib- 
liography at the close of the last volume, and there is a bibliographical ac- 
count of both printed and manuscript sources in Winsor, Narr. and Crit. Hist. 
vi, 592-603. The R. I. Hist. Soc'y has several orderly books kept during this 
expedition. 

16-1 



242 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

solicit that they would permit some vessels to go to the westward for 
flour,— but as they had laid an embargo on all vessels they think that 
this plan would be opening too wide for the trading part".^ The 
writer entreated the Governor to lay this matter before General 
Sullivan. 

The scarcity of provisions finally became so great, and consequent 
suffering so widespread, that the general assembly took the subject 
into consideration in October and appointed a large committee, consist- 
ing of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut men, ' ' to take a 
regular list of all persons and their families, Avho have already come 
off, and shall hereafter come off, from Rhode Island ; and particularly, 
of such as need assistance for support, and make returns to the general 
assembly or council of war, from time to time, of their names, and in 
what towns they are received". This committee was authorized also 
to "solicit donations from the charitable inhabitants of our sister- 
states", and distribute them among the destitute families. Town 
councils were requested to tell what number of persons they each could 
accommodate with dwelling places during the approaching winter.^ 
Governor Greene wrote the Connecticut authorities, by direction of 
the assembly, requesting that the embargo existing there upon food 
articles, might be so far removed as to allow of their exportation to 
Rhode Island. To add to these burdens, the conduct of speculators, 
who were termed "forestallers", in buying up the necessaries of life 
for private gain, was so flagrant that Congress issued a circular to all 
the states advising legislation to prevent such practices. Finally in 
February, 1779, Congress passed a resolution requesting both Con- 
necticut and New York to repeal their embargo on bread stuffs for 
the benefit of Rhode Island, and a few weeks later the state was 
relieved from payment of .$50,000 of her portion of the Continental 
tax. 

Meanwhile, and during the ensuing spring and summer months of 

1779, the currency question assumed the greatest importance and 
presented difficulties little less distressing to the people than the 
scarcity and high prices of food. The rapid depreciation of the Con- 
tinental currency finally forced Congress to resort to taxation. In 
May, 1779, they ordered a tax of $45,000,000 to be assessed on the 
United States and paid into the treasury by the first day of January, 

1780. The portion of this to be raised in Rhode Island was $750,000. 

On June 1 General Greene wrote Ephraim Bowen, who was deputy 

'R. I. Hist. Soc. MSS. vi, 113, in R. I. H. S. Lib'y. 
"R. I. C. R. viii, 475. 



Rhode Island in the Revolution. 



243 



quartermaster-general for Rhode Island: "I have received your 
favour of the 22d of May, and I am very sorry for your distress on 
account of cash, but how to remedy the evil, the Lord only knows". 
On June 3, Bowen replied : " It is astonishing to see the depreciation 
of the currency. Never did it fall so fast as at this time. A carpenter 
cannot be hired for less than 15 to 18 dollars per day, and all other 
labor in proportion". On the same date Governor Greene wrote to 
the Rhode Island delegates in Congress: "Considering the exhausted 
state of the Treasury that there is not £100 pounds of passable money 
in it, notwithstanding the inhabitants (who do not possess more than 
two-thirds of the State), have paid into the Treasury, by taxes, within 




Ellery House, Newport. 

The home of William Ellery, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

six months (except about £16,000 which is not yet paid in,) £92,000 
exclusive of the £90,000 more ordered by Congress, the greater part of 
which is likewise paid ; that there being such an amazing demand for 
money, owing to the want of the balance of said account due from the 
United States, and being under the necessity of supplying the pur- 
chasing clothier with money to supply the State troops already raised, 
they being very bare of clothing, and the large sum wanted to recruit 
the brigade, together with the incident charges of Government, makes 
our burthen heavier than the inhabitants can bear".^ 

'R. I. H. 8. Coll. vi, 234-236. 



244 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Little more is needed in addition to these quotations to show the 
desperate circumstances of this state in regard to its finances. The 
general situation finally led to the holding of a convention of delegates 
from the various Rhode Island towns. This meeting, called in response 
to an earnest address by Congress, assembled at East Greenwich on 
August 10. Governor Greene presided and various measures were 
adopted ' ' for the purpose of carrying into effect the several interesting 
and important measures recommended by" Congress in their late wise, 
sensible and animating address". Prices were fixed on staple articles, 
with penalties for their violation, and the several towns were ' ' desired 
to regulate the prices of inn-holders, labour, teaming, manufactures, 
and other articles, in proportion to the rates of the necessaries of life 
here stated". A resolution was adopted recommending that the 
assembly at their next session should raise by loan £100,000, which 
was the state 's share for the supply of the Continental treasury.^ In 
response, the assembly in September apportioned the amount to the 
towns, requiring the assessors to collect it from those best able to 
contribute. 

Military events in Rhode Island, meanwhile, had not occupied so 
much of the public notice. The possibility of a British attack was 
always present, but it was evident that the enemy were using Newport 
chiefly as headquarters. For this reason, and on account of the neces- 
sity of concentrating the American troops elsewhere, the patriot army 
in Rhode Island had decreased by October, 1779, to about 1,500 men. 
But even this number made a severe drain upon her resources, entail- 
ing supply of provisions, quartering of troops and hospital service.- 

The time finally came when the events of the war upon the British 
armies were such as to cause their evacuation of Rhode Island. The 
seat of greatest military activity had been transferred to the south, in 
the neighborhood of Savannah, and Sir Henry Clinton prepared to 
transfer his troops to that point. A fleet of transports arrived off 
Newport early in October, and the embarkation of stores, the plunder- 
ing of inhabitants, and the burning of barracks soon showed that a 
general evacuation was in progress. When the day arrived for the 
actual embarkation, October 25, the inhabitants of the island were 
warned by the British to keep within doors during the day, on pain 

'Prov. Gazette, August 14, 1779. 

=The letters on the subject of supplies that passed between Quartermaster 
Bowen and General Green are in R. I. H. S. Coll. vol. vi, and several are 
listed in the Calendar of the Greene Correspondence in Am. Philos. Soc. Proc. 
xxxix, 163. Most of the papers connected with the Hospital establishment are 
in the R. I. H. S. Library. 



246 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of death. The troops marched from the town to Brenton's Point and 
were conveyed in boats to the ships. In the evening the fleet sailed 
and Hhode Island was free of the hated enemy.^ 

Newport was left only a shadow of her former importance. More 
than 500 dwellings had been destroyed ; three-quarters of the in- 
habitants had fled; the commerce that was formerly so active and 
prosperous was ruined, and most of the merchants had begun 
business operations elsewhere. The British on leaving had taken away 
everything of value that was possible, including the valuable manu- 
script records of the town.^ Nearly fifty Tories and their families 
departed with the British troops, and in the same month an "Act for 
the confiscating the estates of certain persons therein described",^ was 
passed by the assembly. Early in November General Gates was called 
away to join the main army, and the command here developed upon 
Brigadier-General Cornell. The Council of War ordered the estates 
of the Tories who had left with the British fleet to be taken in 
possession by the sherifl: of Newport. 

Notwithstanding the deplorable situation on Rhode Island when the 
enemy departed, there was a tide of joy and congratulation over the 
event. Yet this sentiment was mixed with sympathy for the exposed 
and distressed condition of the people. The winter of 1779-80 was 
one of great severity, the cold being so intense that the entire bay was 
frozen over during six weeks. There was extreme and widespread 
suffering on Rhode Island and particularly in Newport. Provisions 
and fuel Avere very scarce and their prices astonishingly high. "Wood 
sold for ten silver dollars a cord ; corn was worth four dollars a bushel, 
and potatoes two dollars. A general famine threatened and was not 
much relieved until the warmer months of the next year. A petition 
was presented to the assembly by deputies from NeAvport, stating that 
the poverty of many of the inhabitants was such that it was impossible 

'Prov. Gazette, Oct. 30, 1779. 

-The town records were carried off by Walter Chaloner, the Tory sheriff of 
Newport, in a small vessel accompanying the Bristol fleet. Passing Hell Gate, 
the vessel struck and sank and remained under water several days. Governor 
Greene complained of their loss to General Washington, who used his endeav- 
ors to recover them. They were finally rescued and deposited in a store in 
New York. They remained here unopened until the Newport Town Council, 
hearing of their whereabouts, sent on a request (July 29, 1782) for their re- 
turn. General Carleton replied that he did not know that they were in New 
York, and apologized for their detention. They were returned in December, 
1782. (See Bull's Memoirs of R. I.: R. I. H. S. Coll. vi, 249. 251; R. I. H. 8. 
Publ, i, 144; Newport MS. Town Records, 1779-1816, p. 59, 70; and Jackson's 
Antiquarian Map of Newport in the Redwood Library.) 

'R. I. C. R. viii, 609. 



Rhode Island in the Revolution. 247 

to supply the town Avith wood, and praying the assembly to "grant 
a sufficient sum of money out of the general treasury, to supply the 
poor inhabitants of the said town with two hundred cords of wood".^ 
In response to this appeal, 160 cords of wood were supplied to the 
town and £1,000 was appropriated to pay the cost. The quartering 
of the American troops, of whom about 1,000 still remained, was also 
a source of much anxiety and effort. 

The spring of 1780 witnessed the American army in a most 
distressed condition. The surrender of Charleston early in May had 
been a serious blow. Disaffection and despair seemed to reign. The 
patience and resolution of Washington stood out in strong contrast. 
As a Rhode Island delegate wrote home to General Greene : ' ' The 
embarrassments under which the commander-in-chief now labors, is 
of such complicated, distressing nature that they could not be borne 
by a less exalted soul."- In view of the conditions, rencAved demands 
were made upon the states for troops and supplies. The Rhode 
Island assembly, at their June session, voted a regiment of 610 men 
and also provided for the sending of a quantity of supplies. 

The future of the American cause assumed a brighter prospect when 
the news arrived that a French fleet with numerous reinforcements 
was expected. Early in July this fleet, consisting of seven ships of 
war, tAvo frigates, and thirty-five transports, with about 6,000 men, 
appeared off Point Judith, and on the lltli entered Newport Harbor. 
Very different feelings did its arrival excite from those aroused by 
the British invasion of over three years before. On this occasion the 
toAvn of Newport, though shorn of much of its former glory, was 
brightly illuminated, and imposing demonstrations of welcome were 
made." The larger number of the French troops decided to pass the 
winter in Rhode Island, and again the state became a great camp.* 

American liberty now seemed an assured fact. The states, realizing 
the value of a closer bond of union, entered into a new agreement on 
March 1, 1781, under the Articles of Confederation. With renewed 
spirit, the patriots entered upon the southern campaign of 1781— the 
last campaign of the war. Early in March the French fleet left 

'R. I. C. R. viii, 637. 

"-R. I. C. R. ix, 113. 

''Prov. Gazette, July 15, 1780. Scarcely had this force been in Newport a 
week, when the sudden appearance of several British sail threw all hands into 
consternation. They disappeared, however, as suddenly as they came. (See 
R. I. H. 8. Publ. vii, 199-202.) 

'The details of this French occupation of Rhode Island are given in Stone's 
French Allies, 198-415, and Mag. Am. Hist, iii, 393. 



248 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

NeAvport to co-operate with the American forces in Virginia, and three 
months later the French army departed on the same mission. The 
ability of Washington and this effective foreign aid combined to give 
the patriot army a great victory. At Yorktown, on October 19, 1781, 
the English commander, Cornwallis, surrendered with 8,000 men. The 
British attempt to repress the colonies was forever lost. Realizing 
the hopelessness of continuing the contest, she yielded, and henceforth 
the chief matters of dispute were over the terms of the peace. 

Through all the series of successes and reverses leading up to this 
grand victory, Rhode Island had taken her proper share. Her patriot 
son, Nathanael Greene, had brought fame to himself and his state 
by being appointed second in command to_ Washington. In most of 
the battles of the great struggle— at Red Bank, at Springfield, at 
Yorktown— her officers and soldiers had shown striking valor and 
courage. She had emerged from the war with her commerce and 
industry paralyzed, her property despoiled, and her people poverty- 
stricken and destitute. But all this misfortune and distress she con- 
sidered as nothing when compared with the inestimable jewel of 
liberty which she had helped to mn. Hopefully did she look fonvard 
to the dawn of a brighter day. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
THE STRUGGLE FOR THE CONSTITUTION. 

The defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown in October, 1781, was 
practically the end of the Revolution. In the following year, a Whig 
ministry, realizing the hopelessness of continuing the conflict, and 
desirous of peace, came into control of affairs. A provisional treaty 
was signed, acknowledging the absolute independence of the United 
States, and favoring her ambassadors in most of its terms. It was 
not till September 3, 1783, however, that the definite treaty was 
made. 

During this period and until the adoption of the constitution in 
1789, the State was under the Congress which had been created in 
1781 by the Articles of Confederation. The problems that beset this 
newly organized government were manifold and tiying. The outlook 
in financial matters was especially gloomy. The Continental Congress, 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 249 

'despairing of obtaining sufficient income from its depreciated currency 
and from the requisitions on the states, had proposed, on February 3, 
1781, that the states should alloAv Congress to levy an import duty of 
five per cent., the funds so raised to be used for the payment of the 
interest on the public debt. In little over a year twelve states had 
either accepted or shown favorable disposition to this reasonable 
proposal ; but Rhode Island alone stood out. 

The causes for Rhode Island's refusal to accede to this request 
formed the groundwork of her whole attitude upon the federal ques- 
tion for the next decade.^ Since the beginning of English oppression, 
she had shown herself not only willing, but eager, to further all move- 
ments leading towards a more perfect union of the colonies. Just as 
she had thus been anxious to resist aggression upon her liberty and 
welfare, so now she was determined to resist any project whereby her 
privileges were to be curtailed by her sister states. She had signed 
the Articles of Confederation with the understanding that she should 
not be molested in the conducting of her own affairs, and she did not 
now intend that her power of levying taxes should be interfered with 
by any other jurisdiction. 

In no place is Rhode Island's attitude on this point better shown 
than in the newspapers of the day. One writer, fearful of the future 
of Rhode Island commerce, contributed over the signature of "Dixit 
;Senex" a long letter to the Providence Gazette, in which he asserted 
that "Congress may call upon us for money, but cannot prescribe to 
us methods of raising it; that is within our sovereignty, and lies solely 
in the power of our own legislature".- General Varnum, one of Rhode 
Island 's delegates to Congress, then returned and through the medium 
of the public press, endeavored to obtain a favorable consideration of 
the proposed law. His argument was, of course, strongly a federal 
one. Dilating upon the necessity of union, asserting that the honor 
and independence of America depended upon some regular form of a 
public tax, and claiming that the right of collecting duties from vessels 
that sailed on the high seas was a national rather than a local one, he 
stated a doctrine that was rather too liberal for his provincial fellow- 
citizens to understand. 

The opposition created was certainly notable. David Howell, pro- 

^The general subject of R. I.'s attitude upon the constitutional questions 
from 1781 to 1790 has been treated in documentary form in Staples's R. I. in 
the Continental Congress, and as a historical monograph in Bates, R. I. and 
the Formatiofi of the Union. See also the bibliography at the close of the last 
volume of this work. 

-Prov. Gazette, Jan. 26, 1782. 



250 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

fessor of philosophy at BroAvn University and a rising Providence 
lawyer, immediately answered with a series of letters abounding in 
local arguments and strongly illustrative of the states rights doctrine. 
Varnum had admitted that there was no express power in the Articles 
of Confederation to lay this impost, but said that there were ' ' certain 
inherent latent powers in the supreme sovereignty which cannot be 
reduced to certain rules". The attributes of sovereignty angered 
Howell and he replied, "Why, for God's sake, are the. powers of sov- 
ereignty said to be inherent, when they are the result only of compact 
and express stipulation? And why are they said to be latent or to 
lie hid, and as it were in ambush for the subject, and ready to pop out 
upon every occasion for his destruction?" While not denying that 
the national government needed the additional revenue of im- 
port duties, he claimed that the right of collecting them 
should reside in the separate states. "Although it is my 
opinion", he said, "that it is against the welfare of any commercial 
state to clog and embarrass trade with any restrictions or duties what- 
ever, yet I most earnestly contend, that if they are absolutely necessary 
and unavoidable in our circumstances, which wants proof, it is the best 
policy of this state, and a matter of our absolute and expressly 
stipulated right, to lay them on, collect and dispose of them, in our 
own way, and solely for our own benefit and advantage".^ 

The Rhode Island assembly, in the meanwhile, although reproached 
by Varnum for not complying with the proposal of Congress, had 
steadily refused to discuss the matter. But now, forced by the con- 
currence of most of the other states to take one ground or another, she 
adopted views such as Howell had expressed, and henceforth acted 
with the greatest of consistence. In the election of May, 1782, Varnum 
was retired from his position and a new set of delegates elected, among 
whom was the champion of the impost opposition, David Howell. 
From the moment of his arrival began his controversy with the other 
members of Congress as to the merits, advisability, and constitu- 
tionality of the impost act. On October 10, 1782, Congress resolved to 
call upon Rhode Island and Georgia for their immediate and definite 
answer to the proposal. Howell and his associate wrote home : ' ' Con- 
gress has demanded of you an immediate answer, in regard to the 
impost. Should it be brought on whilst the least doubt remains in 
regard to its propriety, it will be safest to reject it. To adopt it 

^Prov. Gazette, Mar. 30, 1782. Varnum's articles over the signature of "A 
Citizen", and those of Howell over the signature of "A Farmer", are in the 
various issues of the Providence Gazette from March 2 to May 18, 1782. 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 251 

partially and on condition, as some states have done, would discover an 
aversion to the measure mixed with fear of declaring real sentiments. 
It can afterwards be adopted should evidence preponderate in its 
favor ; but should it once be adopted, the fatal die is cast— it is to us 
irrevocable ' '. The measure came before the lower house of the assem- 
bly on November 1, and Avas unanimously rejected, the following 
reasons being assigned : 

"First, because it would be unequal in its operation, bearing hardest 
upon the commercial states, and so would press peculiarly hard on this 
state, which draws its chief support from commerce. 

"Secondly, because it proposes to introduce into this and the other 
states, officers unknown and unaccountable to them, and so is against 
the constitution of this state. 

' ' Thirdly, because by granting to Congress power to collect moneys 
from the commerce of these states, indefinitely as to time and quantity, 
for the expenditure of which they are not to be accountable to the 
states, they would become independent of their constituents, and so the 
proposed impost is repugnant to the liberty of the United States."^ 

This action of Rhode Island effectually defeated the impost. Bitter 
enmity was occasioned in Congress against Howell for his part in the 
proceedings. The attempts to defame his character and to injure his 
influence at home, as his colleague asserted, "would have swerved from 
his purpose any one not endowed with an uncommon share of firm- 
ness". But these attacks were all in vain, and the Rhode Island 
assembly officially expressed their approval of his action. 

In this matter of the proposed impost, Rhode Island Avas not so 
much alone as her detractors were fond of asserting. Few of the 
states Avere unanimous in their approval of the measure. Georgia 
neA'er acted upon it, and Virginia directly repealed her grant. A 
writer in a Philadelphia paper asserted that "The State of Rhode 
Island deserves to be hailed as the saviour of the liberties of America, 
and I yet hope that many of the other states who have unguardedly 
complied Avith this ill-judged recommendation of Congress, will, before 
it is too late, repeal the acts that have been passed to vest tliem Avith 
the poAver of le\'ying an impost, as unequal in its operation as it is 
dangerous and impolitic in its consequences".- "Whatever may be 
said on the score of adAdsability or public necessity, so far as principle 
was concerned, Rhode Island Avas doubtless actuated by just and 
conscientious motives.^ She fully believed that the proposed scheme 

'Staples's R. I. in the Continental Congress, p. 394, 398, 400. 

-Prov. Gazette, Dec. 28, 1782. 

^F. G. Bates, in his admirable monograph on R. I. and the Im- 



252 State of Ehode Island and Providence Plantations. 

was in violation of the Articles of Confederation and an infringement 
upon her rights as a separate state. In arguing that the impost would 
raise prices in neighboring states, she evidently overrated its effect; 
but the constant struggle which she had had to preserve her territory 
from outside aggression, combined with the isolation and waywardness 
of her early history, were causes productive of greater jealousy of 
centralized power within her borders than in any other colony. She 
had taken her share in the Revolution, not because she desired to be 
one of a great confederacy, but because she felt compelled to resist 
British commercial oppression, not for the sake of colonial union, but 
for the preservation of her rights. In view of her past experience she 
was most chary of sharing any of her own inherent and established 
privileges with her neighbors. 

But the tremendous debt with which the country was burdened, and 
the need of a stable revenue, caused Congress in 1783 to make another 
proposition for impost duties, somewhat modified, in that it was limited 
in its duration and was to be collected by state appointed officers. 
This plan was steadfastly opposed by the Rhode Island delegates, and 
was rejected by the assembly in June, 1784. Events in the commercial 
world, however, were occurring to cause a weakening in their opposi- 
tion. In July, 1783, Parliament had restricted the trade between the 
British West Indies and America to British ships. The great quan- 
tities of English goods flooding the country and underselling domes- 
tic manufactures was drawing specie out of the country, while 
"the American merchant who took his goods to England to sell for 
specie was met by a heavy tariff".^ The commercial party, thrown 
into consternation by these restrictions upon trade, realized that some 
retaliatory measure must be quickly taken. Though opposed to the 
previous propositions for imposts, they now were more willing that 
Congress should have the power of regulating import duties. So far 
had this feeling progressed that by two acts in 1785 the Rhode Island 
assembly granted to Congress the power to regulate foreign importa- 
tion and also the interstate trade. In February, 1786, through the 
evident exertions of the mercantile class, the impost law was passed, 
granting to Congress the power to levy and collect, under stated 

post of 1781 (Am. Hist. Assoc. Rept. for 1894, p. 351, and later embodied in 
his R. I. and the Foi-mation of the Union), says that her "motives may be 
reduced to three: (1) A misunderstanding of the effects of an impost duty. 
(2) Anxiety respecting the disposal of western lands. (3) A jealousy of 
yielding to an outside authority any power over her internal affairs." 
'Bates, JR. /. and the Formation of the Union, p. 101. 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 253 

limitations and conditions, certain duties on goods imported from 
foreign ports.^ 

The reflection of a few years, the realization that such a general 
matter as trade regulation must be governed by united action, and a 
greater confidence in the other states, had brought about a gradual 
change in Rhode Island. The constant discussion of subjects of a 
federal nature had given rise to differing parties— one favoring a 
closer union of the states, and the other opposing this idea. The 
commercial class, as has been shown, for various reasons desired a 
more centralized government. The agricultural class, partly from 
their inextinguishable antipathy against the merchants and partly 
from economic interests, desired no closer form of union than the 
confederated government under which they were then living. As in 
the earlier political controversy of a quarter of a century before, 
town and country became arrayed against each other, and local as well 
. as national issues became hopelessly involved in the conflict. 

The steady rise of the mercantile class in power and wealth, and the 
apparent tendency of yielding to Congress in all federal matters, 
created an opposition in the agricultural class that was to manifest 
itself in a manner disgraceful to the state and productive of discord 
and misery among the inhabitants. Economic motives combined with 
political causes to bring this manifestation closer to the minds of the 
people. Rhode Island, in common with the other colonies, had 
emerged from the Revolution burdened with a tremendous debt. Both 
the Continental and the colony currency had greatly depreciated, 
specie was being drained out of the country, and the debtor class was 
rapidly increasing. The farmers, who had incurred most of the debt 
in their dealings with the merchants, felt the pressure first. Laboring 
under taxes and debts Avliich they could not pay, and expecting little 
relief from a Congress which their political creed bade them to entrust 
with as little power as possible, they came to the conclusion that paper 
money was the only solution of the difficulty. 

It was a terribly mistaken notion. But it must not be inferred that 
Rhode Island was alone in this matter. In New Hampshire and 
Massachusetts discontent over financial conditions brought on mob 
violence, culminating in the latter state in the famous Shays rebellion 
of 1786. In the end only four of the thirteen States escaped the paper 
money craze. 

'The action of the assembly is in R. I. C. R. x, 90, 130, and in the printed 
schedules for February, 1786, p. 37. Power over exports as well as imports 
was granted to Congress in March, 1786. {R. I. C. R. x, 180.) 



254 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

In February, 1785, a petition praying for an issue of paper money 
was handed into the general assembly, but was rejected by a large 
majority. This defeat only nerved its advocates to renewed effort. 
During the ensuing year they increased their strength, adding to their 
ranks many of the anti-federalist faction. The complexion of the 
loAver house gradually took on a paper money hue, and several towns 
expressly instructed their delegates to favor such issues. Warnings 
and remonstrances against such plans were not wanting. Both Provi- 
dence and Newport, where the merchants realized that a depreciated 
currency would mean the decay of commerce and business, urged that 
the credit of the state should not be destroyed.^ Their arguments 
availed for the time being, and the motion to issue paper money, 
introduced in the assembly in March, 1786, was defeated. The act 
granting to Congress the control of the imports was also passed at this 
session. This act, together with the growing financial discontent, 
created a powerful opposition. In the election of May, 
1786, the party in power was completely overthrown. Governor 
Greene was displaced by John Collins, Deputy-Governor Bowen by 
Daniel Owen and over half of the assembly suffered a change. 

The paper money party now in power lost no time in putting their 
principles in force. In May, 1786, the assembly passed an act 
emitting £100,000, to be loaned out on mortgage at four per cent, 
interest for seven years, to be paid within that period in seven annual 
installments. The act directed that these bills should be considered 
legal tender and should pass in all business transactions and contracts 
at par with specie. Most extraordinary measures were taken to insure 
its reception. If a creditor refused to receive the paper, the debtor 
could deposit the amount with the judge of the county court, who 
was to issue a citation for the creditor to appear and take the money. 
If the creditor did not appear within ten days, the debt was declared 
cancelled. In the following month another forcing act was passed, 
subjecting those who refused to receive the bills the same as specie to 
a fine of £100 and to the loss of franchise.- These arbitrary measures 
aroused great opposition. 

Providence, Newport, Westerly and Bristol strenuously opposed the 

^The town instructions to delegates are in Papers relating to the Adoption 
of the Constitution, no 47-63, a MS. volume in the state archives. The Provi- 
dence and Newport remonstrances are in the Prov. Gazette, Mar. 4, 1786, and 
R. I. H. 8. MSS. iii, 110. See also Bates, R. I. and the Formation of the 
Union, p. 120. 

=^The act is in the printed schedule for May, 1786, p. 13, and the additional 
clause in that for June, 1786, p. 8. 




2^ 



-^ 
:_) 

o 

H 

s 



256 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

act at its pasage. The Providence deputies entered a formal protest,, 
asserting that the paper money would not be accepted in the other 
states, which would accordingly withhold supplies, that the bill was a 
stretch of power inconsistent with justice, and that it was ' ' calculated 
only to accommodate certain persons, who, being deeply in debt, have 
noAV promoted this measure to serve their own private purposes". 
John Brown, the Providence merchant, writing just before the passage 
of the penalty act, said that the farmers generally refused to take the 
bills of credit in exchange for produce, and that in order to escape 
from the coming arbitrary order, "some are packing up their goods 
to carry out of the state, others to secure them, and some propose 
shutting up their stores. ' '^ 

The situation became critical almost immediately. The townspeople 
refused to sell their merchandise for the paper, and in retaliation the 
farmers withheld their produce. Great enmity between the two 
classes was engendered. The paper money assembly met in special 
session in August, 1786, and passed further high-handed acts enforc- 
ing the circulation of the bills. They deprived of jury trial any one 
who was brought before the court charged with refusing the paper, 
and also ordered that the bills should be made a tender in payment of 
United States taxes. Thirteen members of the lower house dissented 
from the act on the ground that it was in violation of the Articles of 
Confederation, that through taking away the privilege of jury trial 
it was an invasion of civil and constitutional rights, and that it was 
"destructive of credit, on which commerce depends, and will involve 
a useful part of the community, the tradesmen and the mechanics, 
who rely on trade and commerce for their subsistence, in ruin; and 
will inevitably lessen the value of real estates ; and in the end will 
involve the farmer in poverty and misery ".- 

The progress of the paper money party had about reached its height. 
The scenes that ensued during the next few months were amusing as 
well as extraordinary. A debtor would obtain a loan of some of this 
paper, and then start forth in search of those whom he owed. The 
hapless creditor, after he had dodged his pursuer several times, would 
pick up his weekly paper, and find that his debtor had deposited with 
some county judge the whole amount of his debt in these worthless 
bills. A crisis Avas bound to arrive. It was through the agency of 
the highest court in the state that measures were taken leading to a 

'Prov. Gazette, May 13, July 13, July 8, 1786. 

^The act is in R. I. C. R. x, 212, and the protest, which was rejected, in the 
Prov. Gazette, Sept. 2, 1786. 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 257 

repression of these disgraceful conditions. A certain John Trevett 
had brought a charge against John Weeden, a Newport butcher, for 
refusing to take paper money at par with specie. The case came 
before the Superior Court in September, 1786. Weeden, through his 
counsel, General Varnum and Henry Marchant, pleaded that the 
court should not take cognizance of Trevett 's complaint for the fol- 
lowing reasons : ' ' Because it appears by the act of the General Assem- 
bly, whereon said information is founded, that the said act hath 
expired, and hath no force : Also for that by the said act the matters 
of complaint are made triable before special courts, incontrollable by 
the supreme judiciary court of the state : and also that the court is not, 
by said act, authorized and empowered to empanel a jury to try the 
facts charged in the information : and so the same is unconstitutional 
and void." 

Varnum made the chief *plea for the defendant in a speech that 
was, to quote the newspapers of the day, "learned, accurate, judicious 
and masterly". He stated that the wording of the penalty act gave 
the possible construction that the penalties prescribed were to be valid 
for only ten days, and therefore the act, through expiration, Avas not 
cognizable by the present court. He asserted that the legislature, by 
allowing paper money cases to come before lower courts without trial 
and without appeal to the Superior Court, had subverted the constitu- 
tion. "If Courts existed uncontrollable by the Supreme Judiciary, 
then there was an end to constitutional liberty." Trial by jury, he 
said, was a birthright that could be alienated only by a change in the 
constitution. He closed his speech of nearly three hours' duration 
with an argument clearly showing the distinction between the legis- 
lative and judicial power, and pleading for the independence of the 
latter. The Court rendered its decision "that the information was 
not cognizable before them". Judge Howell declared the penalty 
laws to be unconstitutional. Judge Tillinghast found the absence of 
jury trial "repugnant", and Judge Hazard, although a prominent 
member of the paper money party, also voted against taking cogni- 
zance. Paul Mumford, the chief justice, declared the judgment of 
the Court, without having to give his opinion.^ 

'The documentary sources for the Trevett-Weeden case are in Varnum's 
pamphlet, The Case Trevett against Weeden; R. I. Acts and Resolves, Oct., 2d 
session, 1786, p. 5; the Prov. Gazette for September 30, Oct. 7, 1786; the U. 8. 
Chronicle Oct. 5, 1786; and the Netcport Mercvry for Oct. 2, 1786. Modem 
constitutional treatment is in Cooley's Constitutional Limitations, p. 194, 
Coxe's Essay on judicial powers a^id unconstitutional legislation, p. 234. See 
also Book Notes, vi, 42, xi, 62, where the editor clearly shows that the Court 
17-1 



258 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

The Court's decision was received by the towns with joy and 
congratulation. The dread of penalties and informations was dis- 
pelled. Shops were opened and markets supplied with provisions. 
The paper currency obtained a more extensive circulation, since every 
one found himself at liberty to receive or refuse it. The legislature, 
however, angered by the refusal of the Court to support their arbitrary 
acts, summoned the justices before them. Led by David Howell, three 
of the justices appeared at the session of October, 1786, to answer for 
their conduct. They lost no time in telling the assembly that the 
penal acts were despotic and unconstitutional, and that as the 
Supreme Judiciary of the state they were not accountable to the 
legislature, or any other body on earth, for their judgments. The 
assembly, although angry enough to remove them from office, could 
find no ground for impeachment and therefore discharged them from 
further attendance.^ The penalties laws through the judicial decision 
had become a ' ' dead letter ' ', and in fact were repealed at the December 
session. Defeated in its attempt to assume domination over the 
courts, the legislature now proceeded to make the paper currency as 
useful as possible. They passed an act ordering that one-fourth of 
all debts against the state should be paid in paper. If creditors 
refused to accept this, that part of the debt was immediately cancelled.- 
This law which practically defrauded the creditors of the state of 
one-fourth of their due showed more than any previous acts the 
dishonest motives of the promoters of this scheme. Even more 
despotic were certain measures passed in the session of March, 1787, 
such as the removal of the postmaster at Newport for some alleged 
insult to the Governor, the repealing of the Newport city charter, and 
the refusal to aid Massachusetts in her attempt to arrest certain leaders 
in the Shays Eebellion who had fled to Rhode Island. 

Thus closed perhaps the most disgraceful political year in Rhode 
Island's annals. The party in power had overriden the constitution, 
violated the natural rights of the people, destroyed trade and industry, 
and brought disgrace upon the whole state. The townspeople, unable 
to stem the tide, occasionally ejaculated their disgust of proceedings in 

did not declare the action of the assembly unconstitutional, but merely assert- 
ed its non-jurisdiction over the case. 

'See R. I. C. R. x, 220; Varnum's Trevett vs. Weeden; Prov. Gazette, Nov. 
11, 1786; and TJ. 8. Chronicle, Nov. 9, 1786. See also a pamphlet by John 
Winslow, The Trial of the R. I. Judges. 

-This repudiation was completed in March, 1789, by an act requiring all 
outstanding notes against the state not already forfeited by various acts 
passed in 1788 to be presented within two months for redemption in paper 
currency. 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 259 

the public print. One signing himself ' ' A Friend to Mankind ' ', wrote 
in the Providence Gazette that the assembly, predetermined against 
the voice of reason, "still persisted in their determination, of forcing 
their favorite coin down the throats of those who are not willing to 
receive it in payment for property, when the value is not equal to 
more than an eighth. Strange infatuation ! and how much more in- 
credible, when the very men who have ever argued and voted for such 
an unjust measure actually discharged their tavern-expenses, at the 
close of their last session at Little Rest, at the rate of eight for one ! ' '^ 
The situation was indeed critical. The character of the state was 
assailed in the newspapers and magazines throughout the whole 
country. A contributor to the Connecticut Magazine expressed his 
feelings on the subject by the following poem, which he entitled ' ' The 
Anarchiad ' ' : 

"Hail, realm of rogues, renown'd for fraud and guile, 

All hail, ye knav'ries of yon little isle; 

There prowls the rascal clothed with legal power, 

To snare the orphan and the poor devour; 

The crafty knave his creditor besets. 

And advertising paper pays his debts; 

Bankrupts their creditors with rage pursue. 

No stop — no mercy from the debtor crew. 

Armed with new tests, the licensed villain bold 

Presents his bills and robs them of their gold; 

New paper struck, new tests, new tenders made. 

Insult mankind, and help the thriving trade. 

Each weekly print new list of cheats proclaims, 

Proud to enroll their knav'ries and their names; 

The wiser race, the snares of law to shun. 

Like Lot from Sodom, from Rhode Island run".- 

Such views as have been given were not always the carpings of 
jealous and prejudiced critics, but often came from disinterested and 
impartial observers. The learned Frenchman, Brissot de Warville, 
who travelled through America in 1788, visited Rhode Island in 
October of that year. The description he leaves to us is anything but 
complimentary and clearly shows the evil effects of the previous two 
years' administration. "The silence which reigns in other American 

'Prov. Gazette, March 31, 1787. 

-Prov. Gazette. April 14, 1787. For similar views, see Pres. Manning's 
letters in Guild, Brown University and Manning ; Amer. Museum, i, 290, iv, 
320; Gilpin, Writings of Madison, i, 286, and ii, 629, and the writings of nearly 
all the prominent federalists of the day. Rhode Island's own delegates 
wrote: "We need not inform you how it wounds our feelings to hear and see 
the proceedings of our legislature burlesqued and ridiculed, and to find that 
congress and all men of sober reflection, reprobate in the sti'ongest terms the 
principles which actuate our administration of government". (Staples, R. I. 
in the Continental Congress, p. 566.) 



260 State of ]\hode Island and Providence Plantations. 

towns on Sunday, reigns at Providence even on Monday. Everything 
here announces the decline of business. Few vessels are to be seen in 
the port. . . . AAHiether it be from prejudice or reality, I seemed 
to perceive everywhere the silence of death, the effect of paper money. 
I seemed to see, in every face, the air of a Jew, the result of a traffie 
founded on fraud and finesse. I seemed to see, likewise, in every 
countenance, the effects of the contempt which the other states bear 
to this, and the consciousness of meriting that contempt. The paper 
money at this time was at a discount of ten to one".^ He gives an 
even more dismal account of Newport, whose unsightliness he contrasts 
with the charming description given a few years before by St. John 
de Crevecoeur. 

The paper money party was too dominant, however, to be quickly 
displaced. They remained in office two more years, only furthering 
their policy by completing the work of repudiation. Their power, 
however, was weakening, and at each session the number of those who 
favored a repeal of the forcing acts gradually gained in strength. In 
October, 1789, the law Avhich had made the paper money accepted on 
a par with specie was repealed, and debtors were allowed to substitute 
property as a tender for debt. By the same act the depreciation of 
paper was fixed at fifteen for one. 

The good sense of the people had been tardy in asserting itself. The 
paper money party had run a long race, bringing disgrace and misery 
upon their own state and allowing the strength of party passion to 
work for the rejection of many valuable measures of national concern. 
As an authority on the subject says: "However just her motives, 
however steadfast her hold on principle, still the work of the year 1786 
so lowered her in the eyes of her neighbors that only bad and perverse 
motives could be seen in her acts respecting the federal constitution^ 
It is owing to prejudice and distrust it aroused against the state and 
to its influence in preparing the way for strife over the constitution, 
that this episode has its vital connection with the relations of Rhode 
Island to the union. "- 

Toward the close of the paper money period Rhode Island 's relations 
with Congress were rapidly becoming critical. The controversies 
regarding the impost had been succeeded by several months of apathy 
toward national concerns. But the attention of Rhode Island, as well 
as of the whole country, was soon to be called to new plans for the 
establishing of a more supreme central authority. The system under 

^New Travels in the United States, p. 143. 

'Bates, Rhode Island and the Formation of the Union, p. 148. 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 261 

the articles of confederation was decidedly inefficient. There was 
seldom a quorum in Congress, the revenue could not be collected, 
states were encroaching iipon each other 's rights in violation of federal 
agreement, and commerce, business and public credit were at low ebb. 
Throughout the whole country the sentiment was growing that the 
constitution required some radical amendment or the union would fall. 
In January, 1786, Virginia finally took the lead by proposing that a 
conference of delegates be held in September at Annapolis for the 
purjiose of regulating trade. In June the Ehode Island assembly 
appointed delegates, who, however, did not arrive at the convention in 
time.^ But five states were represented, and the convention ad- 
journed, recommending that another convention should be held, "to 
devise such further provisions as shall appear to them necessary to 
render the constitution of the federal government adequate". 

Congress, thus urged to make some movement toward a change, 
resolved, in February, 1787, that a convention be held in May at 
Philadelphia, "for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles 
of Confederation". The matter came before the Rhode Island assem- 
bly in March, The paper money, or anti-federal party, was in power, 
and the proposition to send delegates was rejected in the house by a 
majority of twenty-three. Since nearly all of the states had already 
chosen representatives, Rhode Island's decided opposition aroused a 
storm of disapproval. James Madison wrote: "Rhode Island alone 
refuses her concurrence. A majority of more than twenty in the 
legislature of that state has refused to follow the general example. 
Being conscious of the wickedness of the measures they are pursuing, 
they are afraid of everything that may become a control on them": 
and again, "Rhode Island has negatived a motion for appointing 
deputies to the Convention, by a majority of twenty-two votes. Noth- 
ing can exceed the wickedness and folly which continue to rule there. 
All sense of character, as well as of right is obliterated. Paper money 
is still their idol, though it is debased to eight for one".- Many were 
the imprecations and threats hurled at her, it even being suggested 
that her territory be appropriated by the surrounding states. The 
question of sending delegates again came up at the ]May session. 
Although the power of the paper money party was somewhat dimin- 
ished, the motion failed through the non-concurrence of the upper 

'/?. I. C. R. X, 203. Rhode Island, in this case, was certainly more active 
than some of the states, as Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina and Geor- 
gia did not even appoint delegates. 

-Letters and Writings of Madison, i, 286; Gilpin, Madison Papers, ii, 630, 
dated Apr. 1, and Apr. 2, 1787. 



262 State op Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

house. In June, Avhen the subject was renewed, the motion passed the 
senate, but was rejected in the house by a majority of seventeen. 
Thus both houses, at one time or another, had favored the proposition. 
It is unfortunate that their opinion could not have been expressed 
unanimously. 

The continued obstinacy of Rhode Island in this matter caused the 
state to be visited with much opprobium. Even the kindly and 
judicious Washington in a letter of July 1, 1787, remarked: "Rhode 
Island, from our last accounts, still perseveres in that impolitic, unjust, 
and one might add without much impropriety, scandalous conduct, 
which seems to have marked all her public councils of late".' 
Throughout the whole country, especially in the strongly federal 
states, was uttered hostile criticism. The townspeople of the state, 
apparently more enlightened than their agricultural brethren, resented 
these charges and desired to place themselves on record as disapproving 
of the legislative action. Several of the Providence merchants, on 
May 11, 1787, addressed a letter to the chairman of the general con- 
vention, asserting that "It is the general opinion here, and we believe 
of the well informed throughout this state, that full power for the 
regulation of the commerce of the United States, both foreign and 
domestic, ought to be vested in the national council. And that 
effectual arrangements should also be made for giving operation to 
the present powers of Congress in their requisitions upon the States 
for national purposes ".- 

The party in power rejected the recommendations of Congress for 
various reasons — jealousy of outside interference, a mistaken idea of 
constitutional liberty, and a desire for a continuance of personal gain 
under the present administration. General Varnum, in a letter to 
General Washington, dated at Newport, June 18, 1787, so clearly gives 
the federal view of the case that a liberal extract is more valuable 
than any amount of comment. "Permit me, sir", he says, "to observe 
that the measures of our present legislature do not exhibit the real 
character of the state. They are equally reprobated by the whole 
mercantile body and by most of the respectable farmers and 
mechanics. The majority of the administration is composed of a 
licentious number of men, destitute of education, and many of them, 
void of principle. From anarchy and confusion they derive their 
temporary consequence, and this they endeavor to prolong by debauch- 
ing the minds of the common people, whose attention is wholly directed 

'Ford's Writings of Washington, xi, 159. 
m. I. H. S. Publ. ii, 169. 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 263 

to the abolition of debts both public and private. With these are 
associated the disaffected of every description, particularly those who 
were unfriendly during the war. Their paper money system, founded 
in oppression and fraud, they are determined to support at every 
hazard. And rather than relinquish their favorite pursuit, they 
trample upon the most sacred obligations. As a proof of this, they 
refused to comply with a requisition of Congress for repealing all 
laws repugnant to the treaty of peace with Great Britain, and urged 
as their principal reason, that it would be calling in question the 
propriety of their former measures. 

' ' These evils may be attributed, partly to the extreme freedom of our 
own Constitution, and partly to the want of energy in the federal 
union ; And it is greatly to be apprehended that they cannot speedily 
be removed but by uncommon and very serious exertions. It is fortu- 
nate, however, that the wealth and resources of this State are chiefly in 
possession of the well affected, and that they are entirely devoted to 
the public good".^ 

Not until September 15, 1787, did Rhode Island officially explain 
her reasons for refusing to send delegates. Governor Collins then 
drew up a letter to the President of Congress, asserting ' ' that we were 
actuated by that great principle which hath ever been the charac- 
teristic of this state— the love of true constitutional liberty, and the 
fear we have of making innovations on the rights and liberties of the 
citizens at large". He said that the real and technical reason was 
that such delegates could be appointed only by the people of the state 
at large, and not by the legislature. The federal minority in the 
assembly thought that these reasons were weak and insufficient, and 
nine of the deputies immediately entered a written protest. They said 
that as a colony and as a state Rhode Island had never up to this 
time deemed it inconsistent with "the rights and liberties of the citi- 
zens" to concur in appointing delegates to any convention proposed 
for the general benefit; and that both the Articles of Confederation 
and the state laws vested supreme power of sending delegates in the 
legislature. "As it would have been our highest honor and interest 
to have complied with the tender invitations of our sister states, and 
of Congi-ess, so our non-compliance hath been our highest imprudence ; 
and therefore it would have been more consistent with our honor and 
dignity to have lamented our mistake, and decently apologized for our 

'R. I. H. S. Publ, ii, 168. 



264 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

errors, than to have endeavored to support them on ill-founded reasons, 
and indefensible principles".^ 

The Federal Convention, in the meanwhile, w^as deliberating at 
Philadelphia on matters of the highest moment to the nation. The 
general sentiment was in favor of having a new, thorough, and power- 
ful form of government. The Articles of Confederation had proved 
too weak. The states could not be restrained, nor the revenue guar- 
anteed, nor commerce protected, nor the orders of Congress be made 
effective. Although it w^as agreed that a ne-w Constitution was neces- 
sary, the preparation of the detailed provisions of such an instrument 
was sure to be attended with much disagreement. There were many 
discordant elements. The powders to be retained by the states, com- 
mercial restrictions, slavery matters, state representation, were but 
a few of the questions that beset the delegates. But finally, on 
September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed and sent to 
Congress for approval. On September 28 Congress unanimously 
resolved that it should be transmitted to the state legislatures, which 
in turn should summon state conventions to pass the final vote. Wlien 
nine states had ratified the instrument, it was to take effect for those 
nine. 

The matter soon came before the Rhode Island assembly at the 
session of October, 1787. As a state she had had no voice in the 
framing of the Constitution, no delegate to the Convention, and no 
representative in the Congress that approved of it and sent it out to 
the states. She naturally could not take such interest in the new 
instrument as was felt by the other states. Instead of calling a 
convention, she merely ordered that a thousand copies of the Constitu- 
tion should be printed and distributed among the freemen. In 
February, 1788, for fear, as one writer expressed it, lest "certain 
learned men, called lawyers and divines, might deceive them by 
sophistry and fair speeches",- the assembly again refused to call a 
convention, and ordered that the proposed Constitution should be 
submitted to town meetings. Since the instrument itself provided 
only for ratification in state convention, such proceedings by the 
towns would have been entirely nugatory. This fact the federalists 
of the state well understood. They also realized that in case the 
Constitution was defeated by a full vote at the polls, it would clearly 
indicate the opinion of the state upon the subject and might in- 
definitely delay the holding of a convention. Accordingly in the two 

'The address and the protest are in R. I. C. R. x. 258-260. 

-Prov. Gazette, Mar. 15, 1788. The legislative action is in R. I. C. R. x, 271. 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 265 

large towns they abstained from voting altogether. Newport cast but 
one vote in favor of the Constitution, and Providence cast not a single 
vote in its favor and but one against. When the total came to be 
added up, it was found that 2,708 had voted against, 237 for, and that 
about 3,000 had not voted at ail.^ 

The federalists now bent their efforts toward inducing the general 
assembly to call a convention. They said that the state would have 
to accept the Constitution anyway in the end, and that if it was 
accepted now, she would have the privilege of proposing amendments. 
At the session of March, 1788, the motion for a convention was 
renewed. It was defeated by a majority of twenty-seven, less by three 
than the vote of the previous session. The Rhode Island legislature 
had clearly shown its oi)position to the Constitution. No other state 
in the country had refused to call a convention. 

In the meantime the Constitution had been making fair headway in 
the other states. Delaware had ratified the instrument in December, 
1787, and Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachu- 
setts, Maryland, and South Carolina followed in quick succession. In 
some of these states, notably Massachusetts and South Carolina, much 
opposition was encountered ; but able leaders and active measures soon 
vanquished the doubters. On June 21, 1788, the union was completed 
by the ratification of New Hampshire. Final success was assured, as 
it was only a question of time when the other states would accept the 
new government. 

The news of Ncav Hampshire's ratification was received with great 
joy throughout all the federal towns in Rhode Island. The citizens 
of Providence arranged for an elaborate demonstration to be celebrated 
on the approaching Fourth of July. Invitations were sent to both 
town and country. On the auspicious day an oration was delivered in 
the First Baptist meeting-house by Enos Hitchcock, and the joy of 
the townspeople was again denoted by the discharge of cannon and 
the pealing of bells. But the crowning feature of the day was a 
feast, conducted in the open air and spread on a table upwards of a 
thousand feet in length. Over 5,000 persons partook of the entertain- 
ment. The only unpleasant feature of the occasion was a riot threat- 
ened by the ardent party spirit that existed. Several of the people 
in the outlying towns conceived the idea that the entertainment was 
intended as a public insult upon the legislative authority of the state, 
which had already shown its opposition to the Constitution. Headed 

'The totals and also all the names of the freemen who voted are given in 
Staples, R. I. and the Continental Congress, p. 590-606. 



266 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

by a few rash leaders, they took the unwise method of attempting to 
break up the said entertainment by force. The Providence committee, 
hearing that a band of armed men were lurking in the woods nearby, 
immediately proceeded to investigate. The two contending factions 
met, and after a short parley the town agreed, for the sake of 
peace, to make the celebration in honor of Independence Day and not 
of the ratification of the Constitution. The toasts were somewhat 
altered, but the spirit of the demonstration suffered no change. 
During the next few days both parties resorted to the newspapers to 
state their views. The country rioters sought to excuse their hasty 
action, while the townspeople found much food for reflection on the 
"decadence of the times''.^ Within a few weeks the ratification of 
the Constitution by the states of Virginia and New York again gave 
rise to federal demonstrations. In the latter instance, eleven flags were 
set up on one side of the Weybosset Bridge representing the eleven 
adopting states. On the opposite side was the standard of North Caro- 
lina three-quarters raised and with the motto, "It will rise". In a place 
by itself, disconsolate and alone, stood a bare pole canted to an angle 
of forty-five degrees and labelled, "Rhode Island in hopes''.^ There 
was surely an ardent and powerful sentiment in Rhode Island in 
favor of the Constitution, but it was soon found that many anxious 
months were to be passed through before the anti-federal majority, 
with their mistaken ideas upon constitutional liberty, could be induced 
to vote for a change. 

Throughout the whole winter the federalists in the state were at- 
tempting to strengthen their party, but with little success. The motions 
for a convention, though fruitless, were constant. In October, 1788, the 
motion was rejected in the house by a vote of 40 to 14, in December by 
a vote of 34 to 12, and in March, 1789, by a vote of 37 to 19.^ The 
gain was so slight as to be imperceptible. The election of 1788 came 
and went, and there was still little change in the strength of the 
parties. Conditions, however, were somewhat altered. As a Provi- 
dence petition, handed in at the May session, stated the matter : "We 
have not an alliance or treaty of commerce with any nation upon 
earth, we are utterly unable to defend ourselves against an enemy, we 
have no rational prospectof protection and defence but from the United 
States of America."* In spite of the melancholy picture, the motioi 

'See Prov. Gazette, July 5, 12, 1788; U. 8. Chronicle, July 3, 10, 1788. 
-Prov. Gazette, Aug. 2, 1778; U. 8. Chronicle, July 31, 1788. 
'Staples, R. I. in the Continental Congress, p. 618. 
^Staples, R. I. in the Continental Congress, p. 619. 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 267 

for a convention in June met with its sixth defeat by a vote of 32 
to 22. 

By the passage of an impost law in July, 1789, Congress for the first 
time enacted legislation hostile to Rhode Island's welfare. In export- 
ing goods into neighboring states she now had to pay the same duty 
as foreign governments. The towns were immediately thrown into 
consternation. Both Providence and Newport petitioned for relief, 
praying that they should not be compelled to suffer for the reprehen- 
sible conduct of others.^ At the session of September, 1789, the anti- 
federal party in power for the first time showed signs of wavering. 
They enacted that the opinion of the people should be given upon the 
Constitution by the useless method of town meetings, framed an 
impost act in accordance mth the Congress bill, and drew up a letter 
for the President of Congress. This address, though conceived in a 
more narrow and local spirit than many in the state would have 
wished, was the best exposition yet of their views. After assurances 
of friendliness to the other states, they observed : ' ' Our not having 
added to or adopted the new system of government formed and 
adopted by most of our sister states, we doubt not has given uneasiness 
to them. That we have not seen our way clear to do it consistent with 
our idea of the principles upon which we all embarked together, has 
also given pain to us ; we have not doubted but we might thereby avoid 
present difficulties, but we have apprehended future mischief. The 
people of this state from its first settlement have been accustomed and 
strongly attached to a democratical form of government. They have 
viewed in the new Constitution an approach, though perhaps but small, 
towards that form of government from which we have lately dissolved 
our connection at so much hazard of expense of life and treasure. 
They have apprehended danger by way of precedent. Can 
it be thought strange then, that with these impressions, they should 
wait to see the proposed system organized and in operation, to see 
what further checks and securities would be agreed to, etc., established 
by way of amendments, before they would adopt it as a Constitution 
of government for themselves and their posterity? These amendments 
we believe have already afforded some relief and satisfaction to the 
minds of the people of this state. And we earnestly look for the time 
when they may with clearness and safety, be again united with their 
sister states under a constitution and form of government so well 

'Staples, R. I. in the Continental Congress, p. 626; Newport Town Meeting 
Rec. 1779-1816 (MS.) p. 174, 192, under date of Aug. 27, 1789. 



268 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

poised, as neither to need alteration or be liable thereto by a majority 
only of nine States out of thirteen."^ 

On September 19, 1789, Congress, unwilling to make use of the 
appearance of force, relieved Rhode Island and North Carolina from 
the impost duties until January 15, 1790. Whether or not the anti- 
federalists thought that this action was a concession to their principles, 
in October they rejected for a seventh time the motion for a conven- 
tion. Strange to say, it was negatived by a vote of 39 to 17, a larger 
majority than in either of the two previous votes on the question. 

A critical change in the situation occurred on November 21, 1789, 
when North Carolina ratified the new Constitution as the twelfth 
state. Rhode Island was now absolutely alone. The suspension of 
the impost act in her favor could last only until January 15, 1790. 
After that, if the legislature still refused to grant a convention, the 
future looked dark. The leaders of the federal party girded them- 
selves for a final effort. They had been defeated seven times, the last 
by a significantly large vote of 39 to 17. But they hoped that the 
change in conditions, through the ratification of North Carolina, would 
bring about the fulfillment of their hopes. The assembly met by 
adjournment at Providence on January 11, 1790. After four days 
spent in routine business, the motion for a convention was again 
renewed in the house. A long debate ensued, when it was finally 
carried by a vote of 34 to 29, and sent up to the senate for concur- 
rence. On the following day the senate, after a whole day's discussion 
of the matter, voted for non-concurrence, 5 to 4. Unwilling, under 
stress of such excitement, to wait until Monday, the assembly ad- 
journed to Sunday morning. A great concourse of people came to 
attend the session. Religious worship was suspended in favor of the 
great/ political question of the hour. Another slightly differing motion 
for a convention was quickly introduced into the house and passed by, 
a vote of 32 to 11. It again went up to the senate for approval. By 
an odd stroke of chance the personnel of that body had suffered an 
important change. According to a story of the times, one of the anti- 
federal senators who was a minister, feeling the importance of his 

'R. I. C. R. X, 356. The letter concludes: "We cannot without the great- 
est reluctance look to any other quarter for those advantages of commercial 
intercourse which we conceive to be more natural and reciprocal between 
them and us". Staples (7?. I. in the Continental Congress, p. 624), says that 
the clause seems like a threat to seek foreign aid. Dr. Dwight in his Travels 
in N. E., iii, 50, refers to a proposal made by the French government to have 
"the island of Rhode Island and harbor ceded to them by Congress". Of 
course such a proceeding would have been impossible. 



The Struggle for the Constitution. 269 

Sabbath duties, had deserted his colleagues for his congregation.^ 
This left a tie in the senate, four senators voting for and three and 
the deputy-governor against. The casting vote remained with Gov- 
ernor Collins, Although a paper money partisan and an anti-federalist 
candidate, he realized the critical situation in which the state was 
placed, and voted to concur. By the narrow margin of one vote the 
federalists had won the first move in their efforts to obtain ratifica- 
tion. - 

The act calling the convention required that the freemen, on the 
second Monday in February, 1790, should elect delegates to meet in 
convention on the first Monday in March at South Kingstown. There 
was no time for delay. Congress, upon renewed application from the 
general assembly, had suspended the revenue laws in favor of Rhode 
Island until April 1. Unless the Constitution was adopted before 
then, the state would be considered as an alien. On March 1, 1790, 
the convention, consisting of seventy delegates, met in the old court 
house at South Kingstown. There promised to be a slight majority 
opposed to the Constitution. After two days spent in matters of 
preliminary formation, the body proceeded to a discussion of the 
Constitution itself, section by section. A committee of two from each 
county was finally appointed to draw up amendments. Upon their 
report, the convention accepted sixteen amendments and a bill of 
rights in eighteen sections. Henry Marchant then moved that the 
Constitution should be ratified and that the amendments should be 
forwarded to Congress with the recommendation that they be adopted. 
The anti-federalists, unwilling to risk a trial of strength, immediately 
moved, as a previous question, for adjournment. After a long dis- 
cussion as to the legality of this move, the latter vote was carried, 41 to 
28. The federalists then strove to have the date of adjournment set 
forward only a few weeks ; but the efforts of the opposition managed 
to have the matter postponed until the fourth Monday in May. By a 
majority of one vote Newport was selected over East Greenwich as the 
place of meeting.^ 

^Staples, Annals of Providence, p. 246. 

''The act itself is in R. I. C. R. x, 373. The detailed action is in MS. Acts 
and Resolves, 1788-90, and is mentioned in the newspapers of the day. 

'The minutes of this convention were not supposed to be in existence until 
1863. In that year Wilkins Updike deposited in the state archives the papers 
of his brother, Daniel Updike, who had been the secretary of the convention. 
Among them was an unpaged minute book, now preserved in a volume en- 
titled "Papers relating to the adoption of the U. S. Constitution", and printed 
in Staples, R. I. in the Continental Congress, p. 644. It covers only as far as 
the beginning of the session on March 4, and all subsequent action has to be 



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MAP OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, BY CALEB HARRIS, 179.-). 
From the Original in the Possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 



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The Struggle for the Constitution. 271 

Again had the provincial feeling against the Constitution triumphed. 
Altiiough the large towns made vigorous efforts, the anti-federalists 
won another victory at the election of April, 1790. Congress, dis- 
gusted at the turn of proceedings, was rapidly working itself into an 
impatient state of mind. The advisability of coercion was frequently 
discussed. The northern states, anxious to obtain Rhode Island's vote 
in Congress on certain measures in which they were opposed by the 
South, all but succeeded in getting a ])i]] passed which provided for 
extreme measures.^ Rhode Island was not left uninformed of the 
proceedings. One congressman, writing to her of the feeling through- 
out the country on the subject, remarked that "the people in the back 
parts ought no longer to be deceived with the idea, that the condition 
of single independence is an eligible one". 

Active preparations Avere made in Rhode Island for the approaching 
convention. The different towns instructed their delegates on the 
matter, and Providence even provided for a possible secession from 
the state in case the Constitution was rejected. On May 24, 1790, 
the convention, upon whose decision Rhode Island's fate depended, 
assembled at Newport. After two days spent in attempting to get a 
quorum, the delegates finally took up the matter in hand. For five 
days the discussion over various amendments was continued. Late in 
the afternoon of May 29 the grand question of adopting or rejecting 
the Constitution of the United States was moved by Benjamin Bourne. 
It was seconded and passed in the affirmative by a vote of 34 to 82.^ 
By the narrow margin of two votes Rhode Island was saved from 
lasting disgrace and possible dismemberment. 

The news of the great event was received with demonstrations of joy 
both in Providence and Newport, and was hailed with satisfaction 
throughout the whole country. The act of ratification, with a bill of 
rights and twenty-one amendments suggested, was soon published.^ 
In June the assembly convened, took the oath to support the new 

gleaned from the meagre Journal of the Convention, which also is not com- 
plete, and from the newspapers of the day. There has recently been found in 
some old manuscripts in the R. I. Hist. Soc. Library, a MS. volume of min- 
utes of this convention. It is a document of 81 pages, the first 16 of which, 
however, are missing. It covers in detail all the action from the middle of 
the session on May 3 until the close of the convention on March 6. Contain- 
ing as it does abstracts of the arguments of each speaker, the statements of 
the different votes, etc., this document should soon be printed to complete the 
record printed by Judge Staples. 

^Bates, R. I. and the fonnation of the Union, p. 186-195. 

=The journal of the convention, the town instructions to delegates, and 
other papers are printed in Staples, R. I. in the Continental Congress, p. 659- 
681. 

^These are printed in Staples, R. I. in the Continental Congress, p. 674-680. 
For a discussion of them see Bates, R. I. and the Formation of the Union, p. 
201-207. 



272 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Constitution, elected senators to Congress, and ratified eleven of the 
twelve amendments previously proposed by Congress. The proceed- 
ings of the session, instead of concluding with "God save the State", 
as had been the custom of the past year, were now ended with "God 
save the United States of America". Rhode Island was at last within 
the Union. 



CHAPTER XVII.i 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE FENNERS, 1790-1811. 

The entry of Rhode Island into the Union through the adoption of 
the constitution may properly be considered as the beginning of a new 
era. During the colonial period it had enjoyed a greater measure of 
liberty than any of the other English settlements, although its inde- 
pendent existence had been often seriously threatened by the territo- 
rial claims of its colonial neighbors. Although the boundary line be- 
tween the state and Massachusetts was not clearly defined at all points, 
its territorial rights had long been acknowledged, and very little 
change was henceforth to be made in its geographical limits.- The 
people of the state were mainly engaged in agriculture and commerce, 
but were just beginning to take an interest in manufactures. The soil 
of Rhode Island as a whole has always been considered as sterile, but 
certain sections of it, especially its islands, are fertile, and at the time 
under consideration considerable quantities of butter and cheese, pro- 
nounced of excellent quality, were exported to the neighboring colo- 
nies. Its fine breeds of cattle and sheep had also obtained a reputation 

' Beginning with this chapter the writer wishes to acknowledge the efficient 
assistance of Josiah B. Bowditch. Up to this period it has been somewhat un- 
necessary to mention matters of minor importance, since Governor Arnold's 
comprehensive history of the state so fully covers all events. But from this 
date of 1790 until the close of the 19th century, Ave have no detailed account of 
the state's history. For this reason, therefore, the subject henceforth assumes 
rather the form of annals. As we approach, furtliermore, the history of the 
present time, it becomes more difficult to form historical judgment. It is bet- 
ter to give the plain, unvarnished narrative of events, leaving to the writers of 
the future the deduction of motives and the forming of opinion. 

^ In 1862 Fall River, Rhode Island, which, in 1790, was the northerly portion 
of the town of Tiverton, was transferred to Massachusetts, while Rhode Island 
received compensation by the annexation of the Massachusetts town of Paw- 
tucket, and the westerly portion of Seekonk. The latter is now the populous 
town of East Providence ; the annexed Pawtucket now forms that portion of 
the present city of Pawtucket which lies east of the Seekonk river ; while the 
town which Rhode Island lost in 1862 is now that portion of the present city of 
Fall River which lies east of Mount Hope bay. 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 273 

outside of its borders, and were exported in considerable numbers. 
This little state, scarcely larger in area than Greater London, is now 
more than seven times as populous as it was in 1790, yet this great 
growth is almost entirely due to the development of its manufactures. 
Its farming interests may be considered to have been fully developed 
when the first Federal census was taken, and it is reasonable to believe 
that the farms as a whole were as well-tilled then as they now are, and 
that, outside of the sections where the cities and growing villages have 
encroached upon the country, the wooded area of Rhode Island is no 
smaller now (1901) than it was in 1790.^ 

The change from the loose union of the thirteen states, which had 
existed during and since the Revolution, to a strong, responsible Fed- 
eral government, Avas a radical one, and although they had all finally 
accepted the new order of things, their adjustment into the Union, 
involving, as it did, many radical changes, could not be effected without 
some degree of friction. No other of the original states as British 
colonies, and none of the new states, except Vermont,- enjoyed, prior 
to their entry into the Union, so large a measure of independence as 
did Rhode Island. In adopting the constitution it had to surrender 
more of its individual authority than did any of its sisters, and it 
naturally hesitated the longest before taking the final step. 

Immediately after the adoption of the constitution by the state, on 
June 14, 1790, Congress passed an act extending over Rhode Island 
the provisions of the tarifTt' act of July 4, 1789, the tonnage act of July 
20, the act to regulate the collection of customs and tonnage duties, 
passed July 31, and the registry act of September 1, 1789. The state 
was divided into two customs districts, those of Newport and Provi- 

' West Greenwich had 2,054 inhabitants in 1790 and but 606 in 1900; Little 
Compton, 1,542 in 1790 and 1,132 in 1900; Foster, 2,26S in 1790, and 1,151 in 
1900; Charlestown, 2,022 in 1790, and 975 in 1900; Exeter, 2,485 in 1790, and 841 
in 1900; Richmond, 1,760 in 1890, and 1,506 in 1900. A careful comparison of 
the jwpulation figxii-es of the remaining towns and cities of the state for the 
two periods leads to the conclusion tliat the farming population of the state is 
no larger now than it was in 1790. In examining the details of tlie census of 
1790, however, it is well to understand that tlie accuracy of some of the returns 
is doubtful, as many citizens in the agricultural towns declined to give the re- 
quired information, looking upon the inquiries as an attempt of the general gov- 
ernment to interefere in their domestic affairs (See R 1 (Viisnx Repn t, 1885, 
page 380). The total population of the state, as given in 1790 was 68,825. That 
of 1800 was only 69,122, although Providence and two or three of the other 
towns had made large gains during the decade. The most noticeable fact in 
the census is tlie dwindled population of Newport. In 1774, when the last 
colonial census, before the beginning of hostilities, was taken, Newport con- 
tained 9,209 and Providence 4,321 inhabitants. The terrible effects of the Revo- 
lution upon Newport so much affected population that in 1790 that town con- 
tained but 6,716 inhabitants, while Providence had increased to 6,380. 

■^ Vermont declared its independence and adopted a constitution on December 
25, 1777, and from that date until its entry into the Union, in 1791, was abso- 
lutely independent of outside control. 
18-1 



274 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

dence, which were constituted ports of entry, and each given a col 
lector, naval officer, and surveyor. There were also to be six surveyors 
for the seven ports of delivery, one of which — Pawtuxet — was in the 
Providence district, and the other six— North Kingstown, East Green- 
wich, Westerly, Bristol, Warren and Barrington — in the district of 
Newport. The two last-mentioned places were to be served by the 
same surveyor. The fact that all of the minor parts of the state save 
Pawtuxet were placed within the Newport customs district clearly 
indicates the relative importance in which the two leading towns of 
the state were held at that time in the judgment of the national offi- 
cials. 

The relinquishment of the customs and tonnage revenues to the 
general government at that time was a matter of considerable impor- 
tance to the state, as its ordinary revenues must necessarily be dimin- 
ished by their loss. The town of Providence, which had labored so 
zealously to secure the adoption of the constitution, discovered that 
an important public work, necessary to its continued commercial 
growth, was likely to be held up by the diversion of the port revenues 
to the national treasury. In January, 1790. the general assembly 
incorporated the River Machine Company for the purpose of dredging 
Providence river and improving its navigation. To remunerate the 
company for its work, and to pay the expense of building "the mud 
machine ' ', the act provided for a duty of two cents a ton on all vessels 
of above sixty tons arriving at the port. It appears that the company 
had just begun the work of dredging, and had realized but sixty 
dollars in duties, when the acceptance of the constitution put a tempo- 
rary stop to the work. The company directed its president and secre- 
tary to petition Congress for a continuation of the subsidy, and to 
secure the aid of the congressmen from the state in the matter. In a 
letter from Obadiah Brown, secretary of the company, to Senator 
Theodore Foster, dated August 2d, 1790,^ he states that the river 
shoaled perceivably every year or two, and had been several feet deeper 
during the memory of man ; that owing to the filling up of the channel, 
all large vessels were obliged to unload part of their cargo at the 
"Crook", which in the icy season was dangerous, the scows sometimes 
taking in water to the damage of the goods, and sometimes sinking 
with the whole property on board ; that there were a larger number of 
vessels belonging to the port than belonged to New York ; that it was a 
place of more navigation than any of its size in the Union ; that it was 
no chimera that, the exertions of art excepted, the time was fast ap- 
proaching when Providence could be a port no longer; and that the 
machine and scow was then lying idle "in this very wormy river", 
awaiting the legislation necessary to set it dredging again. Congress 

• R. I. U. S. Pnbl. viii, 127. 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 275 

passed an act on August 11, 1790, continuing the tonnage duty for the 
benefit of the compam^ until January 10, 1791, and subsequent acts 
prolonged its operation until June 1, 1796. 

The general assembly, in June, 1790, chose Joseph Stanton, jr., and 
Theodore Foster as United States senators, and they took their seats 
in the senate on the 25th of that month. In drawing lots for their 
respective classes, Mr. Stanton drew the four years' and Mr. Foster 
the two years' term, from IVIarch 4, 1789. To enable the two gentle- 
men to take their seats promptly, and to provide for their immediate 
needs, the general assembly voted to loan each of the gentlemen one 
hundred and fifty silver dollars, which they were to pay into the 
state treasury, with interest, upon their return. Provision was 
made in the resolution that, if the treasury did not then contain 
the necessary three hundred dollars, the money should be furnished 
the senators by either of the collectors of imposts. 

The act authorizing the election of a member of the National House 
of Representatives, directed the election to be held on the last Tuesday 
of August ; that the election be held under the same conditions as the 
regular state elections; that if no person received a majority at the 
first election, a second one should be held on the tenth day after the 
rising of the assembly, at which election only such candidates shouldbe 
voted for as at the first election received the largest number of votes, 
and whose total vote constituted a majority of the whole number cast ; 
that the votes cast at the second election should be counted at the next 
session of the general assembly, and that if no one then received a 
majority, a third election should be ordered on the 10th day after the 
rising of the two houses, at which only the two highest candidates 
should be voted for. The state appears to have been represented in 
the Continental Congress up to the time of the organization of the 
First Congress under the constitution. Benjamin Bourn, who had 
advocated the adoption of the constitution, was chosen representative 
to that Congress at the election in August, 1790. His term expired on 
the 4th of March following, but he was re-elected in October, 1790. 

The desire to hold office at this time appears to have been as intense 
as it is at the present day. The principal Federal offices to be filled 
were those of collectors and surveyors, previously mentioned, district 
judge, district attorney, naval officers at Providence and Newport, 
commissioner of loans, and marshal. The applicants for Federal posi- 
tions were mainly confined to those who had advocated the accession of 
Rhode Island to the Federal compact. The "antis", who had carried 
their opposition almost to the point of placing the little commonwealth 
in a ridiculous position, could hardly expect to be rewarded for their 
obstinacy. Washington was repeatedly warned to give office to 
none but his political friends. Some of the applicants for office did 



276 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

not wait for the convention's action, but, anticipating its ratification, 
had written to the president personally. One of the first so to do was 
ex-Governor John Collins of Newport, who had served the state as its 
chief magistrate from !May, 1786, to Alay, 1790. Under date of May 
24, 1790, he detailed the sacrifices he had made in the cause. On the 
memorable Sunday in January of that year, it was his vote which, by 
breaking the tie in the senate, had caused that body to concur with the 
lower house in ordering a convention, and he assured Washington that 
he had lost public confidence because of that act. "And when I re- 
flect", he w^rote, "upon your friendship, generosity and goodness, with 
how much it will be in your poAver to gratify me, you will give me leave 
to anticipate your influence and appointment to the office of collector 
for the district of Newport. Your Excellency's attention to me in 
this shall be ever had in lasting remembrance". And he closed with 
these words: "Your goodness will forgive the trouble given you by 
an application from him wdio will obey your command with cheerful- 
ness and alacrity, and honor you Avithout flattery".^ Governor Col- 
lins did not receive the appointment, Avhich Avent to William Ellery. 
The letters- regarding appointment to office, sent to AA^ashington, 
Hamilton, and the Rhode Island congressmen, by the applicants and 
their friends make interesting reading. They shoAv the light in Avhich 
the politicians of the day regarded each other, and also the fact that 
the political affiliations of some of the public men Avere not as yet 
clearly defined. Governor Fenner probably had as much to say about 
Federal appointments in Rhode Island as any one in the state. His 
letters to Senator Theodore Foster shoAV him to have been an accom- 
plished political fence-builder. 

An important question, in Avhieh the state Avas greatly interested, 
and Avliich probably had some influence in securing its ratification of 
the constitution, Avas Hamilton 's project for the assumption of the 
state debts by the Federal government. It had been attached to the 
funding bill, Avhich at the time seemed likely to pass Avithout including 
the assumption of the state debts. Naturally the friends of the meas- 
ure Avere anxious to have Rhode Island's assistance in securing its 
passage. The New England congressmen Avere generally in favor of 
the measure, Avhile those from the southern states Avere, as a rule, 
opposed to it. The project Avas finally carried through by a compro- 
mise betAA^een Jefferson and Hamilton, by Avhich southern votes Avere 
given for the state debts measure in exchange for northern ones for 
locating the permanent capital of the nation upon the Potomac. The 
senators from this state had lent their influence and their votes in 

' Am. Hist. Rev. i, 279. 

"^ R. I. Hint. Soc Publ. viii, 2. 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 277 

furtherance of the latter project, but at its final passage voted against 
it, because the amount fixed upon for Rhode Island was only $200,000, 
while they and leading men of the state believed that a fair distribution 
of the $21,500,000 assumed by the general government would have 
allotted at least $500,000 as the amount due. This question caused a 
good deal of discussion throughout the state, and the outcome caused 
considerable dissatisfaction, and furnished an argument to the irrecon- 
cilables who still doubted the wisdom of Rhode Island's accession to 
the Union. 

At the June session of the general assembly, immediately following 
the adoption of the constitution, the ten amendments to the latter, 
which had been adopted to soften the opposition of its opponents, were 
all accepted. The "Providence society for promoting the abolition of 
slavery, for the relief of persons unlawfully held in bondage, and for 
improving the condition of the African race", was chartered. The 
subject of slavery was under freciuent discussion about this time. The 
newspapers contained many communications picturing the horrors of 
the slave ships, many of which sailed from Rhode Island ports. The 
arguments against the institution were mainly regarding the slave 
trade, rather than against the institution itself, although the latter 
received some degree of condemnation. 

In August, 1790, after the adjournment of Congress, President 
Washington visited Newport and Providence. The autumn before, 
when he made his trip north he had shunned the state as he would any 
other foreign country, but now that she was in line, he made a special 
trip to welcome the wayward little sister which had entered the fold at 
the eleventh hour. He was accompanied by Jefferson, who was then 
secretary of state. Judge Blair, one of the justices of the United 
States Supreme Court, Governor Clinton of New York, Senator Fos- 
ter of Rhode Island, Congressman Smith of South Carolina and Gil- 
man of New Hampshire, and others. After spending a day at New- 
port, where he Avas duly saluted, addressed, banqueted and punched,^ 
he took the packet Hancock, Captain Brown,- and after tossing many 
hours on a rough bay, arrived at Providence at four in the afternoon 
of August 18. A cannon was fired as the packet reached the outer 
harbor, and as AYashington stepped upon the wharf he was greeted 
with a Federal salute (thirteen guns). Governor Fenner headed the 
largest and most distinguished procession the town had ever seen. 
The state and town dignitaries, the local militia organizations, the 

' Euni and molasses. 

'^ Plying^ between Providence and New York. It appears that Providence 
was considered of sufficient importance in 1790 to have a line of jjassenger boats 
to New York in the winter time. Until very recently the people of Providence, 
a city of 175,000 inhabitants, have been required in the winter to go to a small 
Connecticut town to take boat for the metropolis. 



278 State of Rhode Island and Providence Pi^antations. 

officers and members of the order of Cincinnati, the Masonic brethren, 
the officers and members of the Society of Mechanics and Manufactur- 
ers, and other local organizations, each had their place in the proces- 
sion before the "gentlemen strangers" and common people were 
reached. The leading citizens of the young republic a century ago 
paid great homage to the exacting goddess of Precedence, and even the 
minor officers of the local societies were placed in line on this occasion 
with a scrupulous regard to their supposed importance. It is interest- 
ing to note that Governor Clinton was given position next to Washing- 
ton himself, and ahead of Jefferson and Senator Foster, while Judge 
Blair of the Supreme Court had to trudge along by the side of the two 
ordinary congressmen. Bells were rung as the procession passed 
through the streets, and, in the quaint language of the Providence 
Gazette of that week's issue, "all ages, classes and sexes were full of 
sensibility on the joyful occasion, and the brilliant appearance of the 
ladies from the windows was politely noticed by the President, and 
gave animation to the scene". Arriving at the "Golden Ball Inn",' 
President Washington, Governor Fenner and the other notables re- 
vicAved the procession as it marched past. There was a plentitude of 
drumming and fifing in those days, and it is to be presumed that the 
militaiy bands of the town, which were probably largely composed of 
musicians who had had long practice during the Revolution, discoursed 
good music, but the only record we have of this feature of the recep- 
tion is from the journal of Congressman Smith, who said the proces- 
sion contained three "negro scrapers", who made "a horrible noise". 
At nine at night, Washington and his companions went to the Rhode 
Island College grounds, at the invitation of the students, who had 
handsomely illuminated the building. Visiting celebrities have been 
badlj^ overworked in all ages. At nine o'clock the next morning, 
Washington and his companions were taken in hand and shown the 
town. They traversed all the principal streets, and examined every- 
thing of interest, looked over the college building, went on board of a 
large ship— the President— of 900 tons, built for Messrs. Brown & 
Francis, and partook of wine and punch at the residences of the Gov- 
ernor and three other prominent citizens. In the course of the day, 
Washington received formal addresses of welcome and congratulation 
from the Providence Town Council, from the corporation of the Rhode 
Island College, and from the Society of the Cincinnati, to all of which 

' This old inn, now known as the Mansion House, is still standing on Benefit 
street, opposite the Old State House. Among the Providence Town Papers Nos. 
5,700, 5,701, 5,703, 5,704, 5,712, 5,717, 5,797, are many original documents relating 
to the visit of Washington to the town No. 5,703 is the original address of the 
town to President Washington and No. 5,704 is Washington's reply. Other 
documents are bills for candles supplied the poor to illuminate their houses, for 
printing tickets and programmes and services incident to the occasion. 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 279 

he made appropriate responses. At three in the afternoon, at which 
time, according- to the South Carolina chronicler, all of AVashington's 
companions were completely exhausted, the company sat down to a 
banquet in the Court House (the Old State House), which was set for 
two hundred plates. The inevitable toasts followed. They were 
thirteen in number, of which "The Congress of the United States" was 
first, and "The President of the United States" was second. When 
the latter was announced, AYashington immediately arose and drank 
to the company present. The third toast Avas to the Governor and the 
state, the fourth to the King and National Assembly of France, the 
fifth to Lafayette, and the sixth to the fair daughters of America. At 
the conclusion of the thirteenth toast, Washington arose and proposed 
"The Town of Providence", and after it had been pledged in good 
Providence rum, immediately departed for the New York boat, which 
sailed about four o 'clock.^ 

The prominence given to the French in the toasts at this banquet 
shows that the state in which "our French allies" had performed their 
chief service in the Revolution retained a warm regard for them. 
Almost every public occasion about this time ended with a banquet and 
a long programme of toasts. The newspapers of the day, which ordi- 
narily gave but little local news, always recorded the text of the toasts 
drank on the Fourth of July and on other special occasions. Even the 
commencement exercises of Brown University usually ended with a 
banquet by the ' ' Federal Adelphi ' ', and the drinking of toasts. 

At the September session of the general assembly legislation was 
enacted requiring the keepers of gaols throughout the state to commit 
for safe keeping all prisoners arrested under the authority of the 
United States, in "full assurance" that Congress would make pro- 
vision for their support. The time for the election of congressmen 
was changed at this session to the third Monday in October. At an 
adjourned session in October the general assembly adopted an address 
to President Washington. His polite response was ordered to be 
inscribed in the public laws. 

In the spring election of 1791, Arthur Fenner, who had displaced 
Governor Collins in the previous year when Rhode Island was a colony, 
was re-elected as Governor of the state. So popular a man he was that 
he was chosen to the office each successive year until his death in 1805, 
and then was succeeded by his son, James Fenner, who held the office 
until the triumph of the Federalists in 1811. The administration of 
these two men — father and son — covered a period of twenty-one years, 
during which many important events connected with Rhode Island's 
entry into the Union occurred. 

' There is a comprehensive account of Washington's visit to Providence in 
the Prov. Journal for Oct. 15, 1899. 



280 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

In 1791 several lotteries for public purposes were granted. It was 
much easier at that time to raise money for such purposes than by 
either regular taxation or subscription, and it was considered perfectly 
legitimate. The building of bridges, the laying out and improvement 
of roads, the erection of churches, and the raising of money for Rhode 
Island College were some of the praiseworthy purposes in the further- 
ance of which the natural propensity of mankind to indulge in games 
of chance was stimulated and encouraged. Commissioners to help 
adjust the boundary line between Rhode Island and Massachusetts 
were appointed at the May session of the general assembly in 1791 ; 
and at the same sitting a petition for a division of the town of Glo- 
cester was referred to the next session. It was discussed at the session 
of February, 1792, and again laid over for further consideration. 

An unimportant resolution passed at the October session this year, 
to pay John Carr, gunner, and four oarsmen their wages for services 
at Fort AVashington from May 8, 1790, to May 8, 1791, and the ap- 
pointment of a committee to consider and report upon the advisability 
of retaining the gunner and oarsmen in the service of the state, indi- 
cates that Rhode Island had not yet rendered unto Caesar all things 
that were Caesar's. The fact that the national government should 
have sole charge of the fortifications was not fully understood until 
some time later. In 1792 the assembly voted to remount the cannon at 
Fort AA^ashington, and to furnish suitable colors and a reasonable 
amount of powder for it. Probably both state and national colors 
were raised over it. That the former were used seems certain, for two 
years later an indignant correspondent in' the Providence Gazette com- 
plains because the state colors were raised over the fort on the receipt 
of the false intelligence of the capture of the Duke of York by the 
French. In 1791 several of the well-to-do merchants and other men of 
means in Providence secured a charter for a bank. It was known as 
the "Providence Bank", and went into operation in October of that 
year. It was the first bank organized in the state, and its immediate 
success encouraged the starting of others. 

In February, 1792, the general assembly passed an act to regulate 
the affairs of the Narragansett Indians and a committee, of which 
Governor Fenner was the chairman, was chosen to investigate their 
troubles and take the most etfectual measures to end them. The rem- 
nant of the once powerful tribe was mostly located in the town of 
Charlestown, and it was required, by the terms of the act, to hold an 
election and make choice of a council. All Indian male adults and all 
adult males of mixed Indian and white parentage were authorized to 
participate in the election, but the sons of Indians and negroes were 
declared ineligible. An act was passed at the February session pro- 
viding for the division of intestate estates in equal shares among the 
surviving children. At the same sitting the question of ordering the 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 



281 



election of delegates for a constitutional convention was brought up, 
but was side-tracked for the time by referring it to the next session. 
The assembly was convened in special session in August of this year 
because of the death of Beriah Brown, the high sheriff of Washing- 
ton county, there being no legal method for the appointment of his 
successor, except by act of the general assembly. Legislation was 
therefore enacted empowering the deputy sheriff to act upon the de- 
cease of his principal until a successor was chosen ; and to provide for 
vacancies caused by death of clerks of courts, the appointment of 
temporary successors was vested in the chief justice. A resolution was 
passed at this extra session to distinguish candidates for Congress 
upon the ballots as "First" and "Second Representative", and to 
reject all votes otherwise cast. A curious bit of legislation at this 
same session was the passage of an act forbidding horse racing or 




Coronation Rock, Kenyon Farm on the Old Pequot Path, Charlestown. 

On this rock it is authentically stated that Queen Esther, the latest ruler of the Narra- 
gansetts, was crowned in 1770. This rock is about twelve rods north of the house erected 
by King Thomas Ninigret. 



liquor selling within one mile of the Seventh Day Baptist church in 
the town of Hopkinton at any time during church services. The act 
was of course designed to give this sect, which has always been quite 
strong in Hopkinton, the same exemption from week-day activities on 
Saturday that other worshipers were given on Sunday ; but as the act 
applied to all days in the week, it was likely to be oppressive if carried 
out to the letter. At the October session it was voted to choose presi- 
dential electors by joint ballot of the two houses, and- that in future 
elections the electors should be chosen by the people at large in town 
meeting. A resolution was passed at this session accepting the United 
States standard value for gold coins. The assembly's formal accept- 
ance of the United States standard of money was evidently considered 
necessary to give it legal sanction. 



282 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

At the February session of the assembly in 1793 a special act was 
passed granting Newport permission to hold theatrical entertainments. 
In May the assembly resolved to transfer the lighthouse in Jamestown 
to the United States of America, "provided, nevertheless, and be it 
further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that if the United States 
shall at any time hereafter neglect to keep it lighted and in repair, the 
lighthouse aforesaid, that then the grant of said lighthouse shall be 
void and of no effect".^ Thus was the United States put on its good 
behavior by its smallest state. As a result of the Avar between Eng- 
land and France, and the capture of certain of the latter 's possessions 
in the West Indies, and of the uprising of the blacks on the island of 
St. Domingo, many of the French inhabitants fled from their homes 
and came to Rhode Island, seeking refuge in the state in which the 
soldiers of France had campaigned so pleasantly and so safely during 
the Revolution. Some of these exiles were destitute when they ar- 
rived, and others, failing to obtain remunerative employment, had to 
apply for aid from the towns in which they were located. The 
general assembly voted the necessary funds for the maintenance of 
such destitute persons at the October session of this year, and appro- 
priated money to reimburse the towns providing for them during 
several of the years immediately succeeding. By an act passed in 
1794 the charity was restricted to French exiles from St. Domingo 
only. In the aggregate several thousand pounds were expended for 
this charity, the larger portion being paid to the towns of Newport and 
Providence. Necessary legislation Avas enacted for the reorganization 
of the militia, in conformance to the act of Congress. It AA^as organ- 
ized in one division of four brigades. 

In February, 1794, the marriage laAA' Avas amended so as to alloAv 
Methodist clergymen to perform the marriage ceremony, as well as 
those of the other denominations who Avere already invested AA'ith the 
privilege. At the March session the land on Goat Island, in Newport 
harbor, on which the fortifications were located, was formally ceded to 
the United States. In October an act was passed prohibiting theatri- 
cal exhibitions and other stage plays ' ' in this colony. ' ' 

No record can be found shoAving the relative strength of the two 
national parties in the state previous to 1794. Joseph Stanton, jr., 
who Avas elected as one of the first United States senators, and whose 
terra expired on March 4, 1793, Avas of anti-Federal affiliations, and 
Avas succeeded at that time by William Bradford, a Federalist. Theo- 
dore Foster, Stanton's colleague, Avhose term expired on March 4, 1791, 
Avas re-elected for six years. There is no record of the popular vot^' 
for representatives in Congress in 1792, when Benjamin Bourn and 
Francis Malbone, Federalists, were chosen. They Avere elected in 1794 

' Acts and Resolves, May, 1793. 



The Administration op the Fenners, 1790-1811. 283 

by the following vote : Francis Malbone, 1,911 ; Benjamin Bourn, 
1,880. Their anti-Federal opponents, Joseph Stanton, jr., and Peleg 
Arnold, received respectively 1,178 and 1,138 votes. 

In May of this year (1794) an incident occurred at Newport that 
might very easily have assumed grave national importance. The 
British sloop of war Nautilus, Captain Boynton, arrived there on the 
8th of that month bringing the French Governor of St. Lucie and his 
suite, who by the terms of capitulation were to be landed at Newport. 
Captain Boynton, who had landed with his first lieutenant, asked per- 
mission of the general assembly to purchase provisions for the ship's 
company, and while the request was being considered, report was 
received that there were thirteen Americans on the Nautilus, and that 
three of them had been impressed in the West Indies. The two houses 
took immediate action, inviting the judges of the State Superior and 
the United States District Courts to confer with Captain Boynton, and 
investigate the truth of the rumor. The British officer and his lieu- 
tenant, on invitation^ met the court officials in the council chamber, 
and flatly denied that there were any American sailors among his 
crew. The two officers started to leave the building, but fearing to 
encounter the excited crowd in the corridors and outside, immediately 
returned. Finally the captain consented to send a line to the officer in 
charge of the Nautilus, directing him to muster the crew in the pres- 
ence of the court officers, and release the American sailors, if any 
should be found. As a result, six sailors declared their American 
citizenship, and were discharged and paid their arrears of wages. 
This ended the incident, but the British captain was undoubtedly 
intimidated. Had he acknowledged that fact, however, he would have 
been cashiered by the British Admiralty. As it Avas, the release of the 
impressed seamen was made to assume the appearance of an act of 
good will on the captain's part, and therefore neither he nor the 
British government could complain of either the outcome or the meth- 
ods by which it was brought about. But the wound rankled beneath 
the British naval buttons, and it was intensified by the partiality 
shown the French in Newport and other coast towns. On July 31, 1795, 
the sloop Peggy, running as a packet between Newport and New York, 
was stopped and searched as she was entering Newport harbor by the 
British line-of -battle-ship Africa (Captain Rodman Home), which was 
anchored near the lighthouse. Captain Home had received informa- 
tion that M. Fauchet, the late French minister to Washington, was on 
board, but the latter, being warned, had debarked at Stonington. 
Failing of his prey, the Africa's captain ordered the trunks of the 
passengers to be opened and searched, in the hope of finding some of 
the embassy papers. Nothing of the nature was found, however, but 
Captain Home sent an insolent letter to Governor Fenner, through the 



284 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

British vice-consul at Newport, Thomas W. Moore. He demanded 
that a British lieutenant, who, as he claimed, had been taken in New- 
port and confined on the French frigate INIedusa, then in the harbor, 
be allowed to come on board the Africa ; that the state authorities aid 
him (with genuine and not pretended assistance) in capturing British 
deserters ; that he be allowed to purchase provisions for his crew ; 
and that the same neutrality be extended to the officers and crew of the 
Africa that was accorded the French. And he warned the Governor 
that if any of his men were even impeded in the least degree by either 
a mob or a single person, he would consider the neutrality of the place 
violated, and would govern himself accordingly. Governor Fenner 
was at his home in Providence at the time, and upon receipt of the 
British officer's insulting epistle, w^rote to Vice-Consul Moore, express- 
ing astonishment that he should have forwarded such a letter, and 
informing him that he had sent it to President Washington. The 
latter, upon receipt of the letter, promptly issued a proclamation^ 
censuring Vice-Consul Moore, and revoking his exequatur. No official 
notice w^as taken of Captain Home. He chased the French frigate out 
to sea, and returning, resumed his anchorage near the lighthouse. On 
August 24, according to the deposition of Captain Tillinghast of the 
ship Ann of Providence, the Africa brought to his vessel and impressed 
three of his crew. All were British by birth, but tw'o of them, he 
declared, were naturalized citizens of the United States, and had fam- 
ilies in America.- 

At the June session of the general assembly in 1795 a resolution was 
adopted changing all money accounts from pounds, shillings and pence 
to dollars, cents and mills, and a committee was appointed to make a 
new estimate of property for state taxation purposes. In October, the 
assembly voted to change the designation of the upper house from 
"Assistants" to "House of Magistrates", and that of "Deputies" to 
"House of Representatives". The "House of Magistrates", however, 
never came into use. 

At the February session of the general assembly in 1796, Governor 
Fenner laid a letter before the two houses from Senator Foster, de- 

' Dated September 5, 1795 

^ A foot note in the Providence Oazette of August 29, 1795, states that the 
British lieutenant whose release was demanded by Captain Home had been 
taken in a British vessel and brought to Newport on July 25, and immediately 
transferred to the Medusa, that he was then paroled, and had left for New 
York in one of our packets the next day, a fact which Vice-Consul Moore must 
have known, and of which Captain Home was probably not ignorant. As the 
captured lieutenant was plainly entitled to his freedom upon his arrival in neu- 
tral waters, and as his transference as a captive from one ship to another within 
the harbor had been made without protest, the British officer took the liberty to 
frame his insulting demand. In any event, it was an affair which should have 
been settled through regular diplomatic channels, and Home's demand was en- 
tirely without justification. 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 285 

fending the action of President Washington and the United States 
senate regarding tHe Jay Treaty. A joint resolution was passed 
expressing contidence in the President and favoring the ratification of 
the treaty, and this action was further strengthened in the following 
April by a memorial from the merchants of Providence to Congress, 
praying for the acceptance of the treaty. The report of the commit- 
tee on state valuation Avas rendered at the June session in 1796, and 
was adopted by the assembly notwithstanding the protest of several 
members of Providence, Bristol and Newport counties, who claimed 
that the estimates for their respective towns were excessive. The 
house refused to allow the protest to be inscribed in the records. It 
was published, however, in the newspapers, and at a town meeting held 
in Providence, June 25, it was resolved not to assess the tax, on the 
ground that it was excessive and unconstitutional. A committee was 
appointed to draft a circular letter to other towns inviting them to 
send delegates to a convention to be held in Providence, to consider 
the taxation matter, and also the question of forming a written state 
constitution. Delegates from eight towns in Providence and Bristol 
counties assembled in convention in the toAvn house at Providence on 
July 26, and after some discussion adjourned to August 15, at which 
time it was determined to issue two circulars to be sent to the several 
towns, regarding the taxation question and urging the calling of a 
convention to form a constitution. At the October session of the 
general assembly a resolution Avas passed requesting the freemen of the 
several towns to instruct their representatives during the recess of the 
assembly on the question of calling a convention of delegates to frame 
a written constitution. The town of Providence rescinded the vote 
passed in June, refusing to assess the state tax, but it took no imme- 
diate measures for raising it. 

Francis Malbone having declined a re-election to Congress, his 
friends put forward Christopher Grant Champlin of Newport for the 
office, while others presented the name of William Greene of East 
Greenwich. The vote was close, but INIr. Champlin won by about 100 
majority. Benjamin Bourn was elected the same day— August 30, 
1796— without opposition, but he declined to serve, and another elec- 
tion was held on November 15, 1796, v;hen Elisha R. Potter was chosen 
by a majority of 945 votes. 

The general assembly, at the February session in 1797, endorsed the 
alien and sedition laws of Congress, in reply to resolutions condemning 
them, received from the legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia. On 
August 4, of this year. President Adams visited Providence, and was 
received at the wharf by prominent citizens Avith a military escort. 
Salutes Avere tired, bells Avere rung, the college Avas illuminated, and he 
was presented with an address. The large trade enjoyed by Provi- 
dence Avith the states to the southAvnrd and Avith the West Indies ex- 



286 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

posed it to contagious tropical diseases. In August of this year the 
yellow fever made its appearance in the India street section of the 
town, and during that month and the next, thirty-six persons died with 
it. Doubtless with a view of guarding against such visitations in the 
future the general assembly passed a law relating to drainage and the 
assessment upon abutting owners in Providence. Public meetings were 
held during the year in Providence and other towns in the interest of 
a constitutional convention. In a Fourth of July oration at Provi- 
dence, Colonel George R. Burrill, a prominent Federalist leader, made 
an elaborate argument in favor of the formation of a constitution. At 
the October session of the general assembly, a proposition to call a con- 
stitutional convention was negatived by a large majority. Elisha R. 
Potter, of South Kingstown, who was elected to Congress in 1796, re- 
signed in July, 1797, and Thomas Tillinghast, Republican, was elected 
in his place by 53 majority.^ This was the first victory in the state 
for the anti-Federalists, who now called themselves Republicans, of 
which we have any record. At the regular congressional election in 
August, 1798, Tillinghast Avas defeated for re-election, he receiving 
but 1,415 votes to 2,836 and 2,680 given respectively to the Federal 
candidates, C. P. Champlin and John Brown. - 

At the annual town meeting in Providence, April 21, 1798, patriotic 
resolutions were adopted respecting troubles with France that had arisen 
from the capture of American merchant vessels on the high seas by the 
war vessels and privateers of the French republic. The resolutions 
were forwarded to President Adams. At the June session this year, 
the towns of Providence, Tiverton, North and South Kingstown, Har- 
rington, East Greenwich and Coventry, having neglected to assess the 
state tax ordered in June, 1796, the general treasurer was directed to 
issue executions against the delinquents ten days after the rising of the 
assembly. This brought the protesting towns to terms. They assessed 
the tax, but Providence was for many years thereafter (and several 
other towns as well) very tardy in the collection of the state tax, while 
Newport constantly exhibited a clean record in this respect. To soften 
the peremptory course adopted against the delinquent towns, however, 
a connnittee was appointed at the October session, the same year, to 
examine the general estimate of valuation. The committee reported, 
at a subsequent session, that the estimate was a just and equitable one. 

' Providence Gazette, November 4, 1797. There are no official records of this 
election. The Federalists had presented the name of James Burrill, jr., of 
Providence, as Mr. Potter's successor. The Republicans, according to the state- 
ment of a correspondent in the Providence Gazette of August 5, 1796, opposed Mr. 
Burrill, on the ground that he was a lawyer. At the election, August 29, Mr. 
Burrill received 180 majority in Providence, but the country towns are supposed 
to have generally supported Tillinghast. 

'^ One of the famous " Four Brothers ", descended from Chad Brown, an asso- 
ciate of Roger Williams. 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 287 

At. the June session of the general assembly in 1799, a resolution 
presented by John Smith of Providence, for calling a convention of 
delegates, elected on the basis of one delegate for each thousand inhab- 
itants, for the purpose of forming a state constitution, received its 
quietus in the house by the adoption of the previous question, by a 
rising vote. At the October session, the house voted — 50 to 9 — 
against exempting members of the Friends denomination from mili- 
tary duties. An act to establish free schools passed the house at this 
session, but was held up by the senate until the next February session, 
when it concurred. The assembly also adopted resolutions favoring 
direct taxation to defray national expenses, and requesting the state's 
representatives in the two houses of Congress to use their best efforts 
to secure the adoption of such a system. The term "Senators" was 
used for the first time in May of this year to designate members of the 
upper house. Fort Adams, the largest fortification in the United 
States, with one exception, was dedicated on July 4 of this year. 

A proposition to divide the town of Glocester, which had been brew- 
ing for some years, was negatived by a vote of 39 to 19 at the March 
session of the general assembly in 1800. In answer to a resolution of 
the Vermont legislature in favor of the proposed constitutional amend- 
ment to designate separately candidates for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, the assembly, at the June session, declined to concur with Ver- 
mont's action, and expressed the opinion that such a change would 
decrease the power and influence of the small states. Providence 
having again been visited by the yellow fever this year, the general 
assembly in October adopted a resolution requesting Rhode Island 
senators and representatives in Congress to use their best efforts to 
procure the establishment of a hospital within the border's of the state 
for the use of ships of war arriving in Rhode Island waters with cases 
of contagious diseases on board. 

The presidential election of 1800 appears to have been the first time 
in which the two great parties were clearly arrayed against each 
other in Rhode Island. As the time approached for the choice of 
electors, the Federal newspapers of the state contained lengthy com- 
munications warning voters against the dangers which would result 
from a triumph of the "Jacobins"^ at the polls. Jefferson was de- 
nounced as a man who wished to subordinate the interests of his coun- 
try to those of France, and as an infidel. At the same time the electors 
were exhorted to vote for the Adams electors because of their high 
character and ability. At the election the declared totals were: 
Adams, 1,941 ; Jefferson, 1,642.- Providence gave Adams 512, Jefifer- 

' The Federalists at this time called the Republicans "Jacobins ", or " Demo- 
crats." 

^ From some towns only the majorities were reported. Some very interesting 
letters concerning Rhode Island's attitude on national politics at this time are 
printed in Mason, Reminiscences of Newport, p. 108. 



288 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

son 56. Jefferson, however, carried Newport, he receiving 217, and 
Adams 211 votes. At the congressional election in August, Thomas 
Tillinghast, Republican, Avas elected, Avhile there was no choice for the 
other representative. At a special election in April, 1801, Joseph 
Stanton, jr.. Republican. A\as elected bj a vote of 2,292 to 1,443 for 
Thomas Noyes, Federalist. 

At the February session of the general assembly in 1801, the popu- 
lous village of Pawtucket, in the town of North Providence, was cre- 
ated a fire district with authority to tax its inhabitants for purposes of 
protection against fire, independent of the town. A curious feature 
of the act was a provision, authorizing the taxation of houses and fur- 
niture at double or more than the rates levied upon land. In June 
certain portions of the free school law were suspended, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to examine the act and recommend such changes 
as they might think expedient. While Jefferson's inaugural message 
seemed to modify somewhat the opinion in which he was held in Fed- 
eral circles, it was evident from the phrasing of the toasts at the 
Fourth of July celebration in Providence, in 1801, that he was still 
distrusted. At that time, and for many years afterwards, a toast was 
always drunk to the memory of Washington, and ex-President Adams 
was warmly toasted throughout Rhode Island for several years. On 
this occasion a toast was drunk to the President of the United States, 
but it was in the form of a desire that he might prove true to the 
constitution and the country. At the annual state election of this year 
six Republican representatives to the general assembly were elected in 
place of Federalists in the town of Newport. 

A resolution was adopted by the assembly in February, 1802, limit- 
ing the time for presenting vouchers of State indebtedness to January 
1, 1803. At the congressional election in August, Joseph Stanton and 
Nehemiah Knight, Republicans, were both elected by nearly a thousand 
majority over the "Federal Republican" candidates, Elisha R. Potter 
and Thomas Tillinghast. Providence, however, gave the Federal can- 
didates 282 votes to 78 for the Republicans. An attempt was made 
this year on the part of the Federalists to defeat Governor Fenner, 
who had voted for Jett'erson in 1800. They supported William Greene 
of Warwick, who had been governor of the state from 1778 to 1786. 
Governor Fenner, however, won at the polls by a vote of 3,802 to 1,934 
for Greene. 

Considerable excitement Avas created in Newport in the autunm of 
1802 by certain developments, growing out of two forged letters which 
had been sent to President Jett'erson in 1801, and to which the name 
of Nicholas Geffroy, a Newport watchmaker of foreign birth, had been 
affixed. A Newport newspaper, the Rhode Island Republican, of 
September 18, 1802, published these letters— which urged the Presi- 
dent to turn out all Federal officeholders, to order Avork on the forti- 



The Administration op the Fenners, 1790-1811. 289 

fieatioiis discontinued, etc. — and charged John Rutlege, a Federalist 
congressman from South Carolina, who resided summers at Newport, 
Avith being the author of the letters. It appeared that Christopher 
Ellery of Newport, who had been elected to the United States senate 
in INlay, 1801, and Postmaster Richardson and his son, the assistant 
postmaster at Newport, all Republicans, were Mr. Rutlege 's accusers. 
Mr. FarnsAvorth, the editor of the Republican, invited the public to 
call at his office and compare the letters with other specimens of Mr. 
Rutlege 's handwriting. Certain of the accused congressmen's politi- 
cal and personal friends Avho examined the letters, made affidavits in 
his favor, while the Republicans who inspected them were sure of his 
guilt. The Newport Mercur^^ came to his defense, as did the Provi- 
dence Gazette. Senator Ellery Avas charged by the Federalists Avith 
being the real author of the letters, and on October 25, as Mr. Rutlege 
was about to depart to his home in Charleston, he Avas given a letter of 
confidence, signed by over a hundred of the citizens of the toAvn, Avho 
were presumably Federalists. Mr. Rutlege, Avho had served three 
terms in Congress, failed of re-election, his term expiring on March 4, 
1803. During the Avinter session of 1802-3, Rutlege sent a challenge 
to Senator Ellery, Avho declined to meet him. Thereupon Rutlege 
threatened to obtain satisfaction in some other manner. During the 
Christmas holidays, both gentlemen happened to meet at an inn in the 
country, and Rutlege attacked Ellery Avith a cane. In the scuffle 
which ensued the Rhode Islander proved himself the stronger man, 
but instead of punishing his assailant, he appealed to the innkeeper for 
protection. The fact that the South Carolinian Avas surrounded by 
personal friends, Avhile he was alone, may have caused him to stay his 
hand, but the Federalist papers published articles reflecting upon his 
courage. 

Pamphlets Avere published on both sides regarding this affair. That 
of Duane, the Avell-knoAvn publisher of the "Aurora", gave an ex- 
haustive analysis of the Avhole matter, and Avas remarkably free from 
personalities, at a time Avhen vituperation Avas considered the strongest 
argument. It alleged that anonymous letters in the same disguised 
handwriting of the forged letters had been sent to the "Aurora" 
during or immediately after the congressional sessions at Philadelphia 
in the Avinters of 1797, 1798 and 1799, Avhich from the secrets divulged 
by them must have been Avritten by a member of Congress ; that these 
letters, and the forged ones contained certain peculiarities of punctua- 
tion, phraseology and construction that Avere common to Rutlege 's 
acknoAvledged handAvriting ; that the forged letters Avere Avritten on an 
imported paper, not then knoAA'u in Rhode Island, but Avhich had been 
delivered out to members of Congress in December, 1800 ; that Senator 
Ellery had never been out of Ncav England Avhen the letters were writ- 
19-1 



290 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

ten, and could not have had any of the congressional paper in his 
possession ; that certain expressions used in the letters proved the 
writer to be a southerner ; that Postmaster Richardson was previously 
knowing to Rutlege's having sent an anonymous letter to Elb ridge 
Gerry, in the same disguised hand, and that he had good evidence of 
his sending a communication under an assumed name in the same hand 
to Callender, the publisher of the Richmond Recorder, which paper 
soon after receiving it, savagely attacked President Jefferson ; that the 
postmaster and his son had informed Senator Ellery of the facts at 
the time of their occurrence, and that the three had not made the 
matter public until a year afterward, and only then because they 
believed public interests demanded the exposure. Rutlege, on his' 
part, issued a pamphlet, in which he only met the most damaging 
charges by a general denial, by affidavits of a negative character, and 
by personal attacks upon Senator Ellery, the Richardsons and Farns- 
Avorth, the publisher of the Republican. A private letter addressed 
to Congressman Champlin, and now in possession of the Rhode Island 
Historical Society, which was written by Rutlege just before he issued 
his pamphlet, shows him in an unfavorable light. In it, he asks 
Champlin to obtain, if possible, facts regarding the private 
life of the Richardsons and Ellery, and he was particularly anx- 
ious to have a copy of the ''epitaph" which Elleiy "had inserted on| 
his father's tomb", and anything in Mr. Champlin 's knowledge which 
would prove his "atheism".^ The direct and circumstantial evidence 
against Rutlege was weighty, and his cause does not seem to have been 
strengthened by his personal attacks upon the private character of his 
accusers. 

The free school act was repealed by the general assembly in 1803. At] 
the October session of this year, upon the petition of one Jacob Burke,] 
who had been convicted of the crime of rape and sentenced to death,] 
a resolution was passed commuting his sentence to perpetual banish- 
ment. By the terms of the resolution he must find security in $10,0001 
that he would leave the state and sail for Germany at his own expense 
within a specified time, and if he ever returned, the original sentence 
was to be enforced. At the May session in 180-4, another petition from 
Burke asked to be relieved from the obligation to furnish surety. Thisj 
was granted, and the time for his departure was extended to Novemberj 
1, 1804, by which time he was supi)osed to have managed to get out of] 
the country. It was customary a century ago to release prisoners fori 
.various off'enses upon their promising to leave the country, a favorite] 
method of getting rid of undesirable characters being to require them] 
to ship on a whaling vessel. 

The presidential campaign in 1804 was hotly contested. The Re- 



' From the "Mason Papers " in the R. I. Hist. Soc. Lib'y. 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 291 

publicans now had newspaper organs in both Providence and Newport, 
and personalities and abuse, which constituted the greater portion of 
the political arguments of the time, were freely exchanged between 
them and the Federalist newspapers. Jefferson carried the state, 
almost by default, in November. There is no record of the total vote, 
but the Providence Gazette stated that its town had endorsed the 
Democratic electors, but that only 120 votes were given out of a total 
of between 700 and 800. In the August previous, Messrs. Stanton and 
Knight, the Republican candidates, were elected to Congress without 
opposition. 

Both Governor Fenner and Lieutenant-Governor INlumford died 
during the year 1805. Governor Fenner had been in feeble health 
for some time, and the assembly passed a special act in June, 1804, 
authorizing Lieutenant-Governor Mumford to perform the duties of 
chief executive temporarily. Although neither was physically fit for 
his duties, both were re-elected in April, 1805, and after their deaths 
Henry Smith, the first senator, officiated as Governor. The Federalists 
made some gains in the general assembly this year. At the April 
election, Newport, which had sent solid Republican delegations to the 
house for several sessions, returned three Republicans and three Fed- 
eralists, but in August a full Federalist delegation was elected. Rhode 
Island being largely interested in ocean commerce, was' a constant 
sufferer from the depredations of the rival belligerents, and because of 
the impressment of her sailor-citizens on British vessels, British sailors 
were constantly deserting from their war vessels, and shipping upon 
American merchantmen. Britain's naval commanders would stop 
American vessels upon the high seas, and take out any seaman they 
believed to be a British subject, and if they were short of men, often 
impressed sailors who were unable, on the spot, to prove their Amer- 
ican citizenship. AVhen these high-handed proceedings were brought 
to the attention of the British government, and the American citizen- 
ship of the impressed sailors was clearly proven they were discharged ; 
but this was a slow and difficult process, and the "sea power" of 
Britain, which bore so potential a part in the overthrow of the great 
conqueror who aimed at universal dominion, was sustained in no small 
degree by the enforced aid of American tars. In the autumn of 1805, 
Rhode Island newspapers contained the names of seventeen Rhode 
Island seamen who were detained on British naval vessels because of 
the want of documents to prove their citizenship. The loss of prop- 
erty from the seizure of vessels and cargoes was also acutely felt in 
the state. At a meeting of the merchants of Providence, on December 
11, 1805, a committee of six leading citizens was selected to collect and 
transmit to Secretary of State INIadison a list of vessels belonging to or 
insured in Providence, which had been captured, detained, condemned 



292 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

or plundered, by the national ships, privateers, or any of the armed 
vessels of the belligerent powers. 

The Republican party divided its forces in the April election in 1806 
and there was no choice for governor. The totals, as reported, and 
which probably represented majorities in some cases, gave Richard 
Jackson, jr., the Federalist candidate, 1,662 ; Henry Smith, 1,097 ; and 
Peleg Arnold, 1,094. Providence, as usual, gave the Federalist candi- 
dates large majorities. The Federalists controlled the house and 
elected Elisha R. Potter speaker. George R. Burrill of Providence 
moved in the house that Richard Jackson, jr., be declared Governor, 
since he had received a large plurality of the votes cast, since the 
charter required a choice to be made, and since in 1780 the assembly 
had elected a delegate to Congress by a plurality vote. James De 
Wolfe of Bristol spoke in opposition, and the motion failed, the vote 
standing 16 to 52. 

Isaac Wilbour of Little Compton, a Republican, who had been 
elected Lieutenant-Governor, performed the duties of Governor during 
that political year. A number of the towns had instructed their rep- 
resentatives to endeavor to secure the passage of a resolution ordering 
a convention to form a state constitution, but although the question 
was brought up at the June session, nothing was done regarding it. 
At the congressional election in August, 1806, Nehemiah Knight, 
Republican, received a majority of all the votes cast. A special elec- 
tion was held in December for the other representative, and Isaac 
Wilbour was chosen by 1,720 votes to 1,220 for William Hunter, Fed- 
eralist. The latter carried Providence by 200 majority. In this same 
year, 1806, the town of Burrillville was formed from the northerly 
portion of the town of Glocester. 

At the February session in 1807, the assembly, after considerable 
opposition on the part of the Federalist members of the house, 
adopted an address to President Jefferson, inviting him to accept a 
nomination for President for the third time. James Fenner, a son of 
the late Governor, had been elected to the United States senate in 1804, 
in place of Christopher Ellery. The Republicans persuaded him to 
accept the nomination for Governor in 1807, and he was elected by a 
vote of 2,564 to 1,268 for Seth Wheaton, Federalist. The Federalists, 
who in the years immediately following endorsed his candidacy for 
re-election, terming him a Federal Republican, do not seem to have 
opposed him in the first instance, and he actually carried Providence 
by a vote of 177 to 122 for Wheaton. There seemed to be a little fric- 
tion in the Republican ranks about this time, Fenner and ex-Senator 
Ellery apparently representing the two extremes. Ellery was a resi- 
dent of Newport, and that town gave Wheaton 16 majority over Fen- 
ner for Governor. In June of this year, Attorney-General James 
Burrill, jr., and his brother, George R. Burrill, were appointed a 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 293 

committee, by vote of the general assembly, to prepare a law for the 
relief of insolvent debtors and for the trial and decision of the peti- 
tions of such debtors. 

The two parties ran a joint ticket for state officers in April, 1808, 
with Fenner for Governor, and Simeon Martin, a Federalist, for Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, In August the Federalists carried the general as- 
sembly, and as a consequence Francis INIalbone was elected United 
States senator in November by six majority. At the congressional 
election in August, Elisha R. Potter and Richard Jackson, jr., the 
Federalist candidates, were elected by more than 300 majority over 
Jonathan Russell and Isaac Wilbour, the Republican nominees, and 
in November the state chose Pinckney electors by a vote of 3,072 to 
2,692 for the Madison ticket. Providence gave the former 540 votes 
and the latter 131. Newport cast 215 Madison and 264 Pinckney 
votes. At a town meeting held in Providence on August 9 of this year, 
a committee of leading citizens was selected to draft a petition to 
President Jefferson to suspend the embargo so far as it related to 
Spain and Portugal and their dependencies. At the June session the 
assembly requested Governor Fenner to notify the secretary of war 
of the defenseless condition of the state, and ask for the erection of 
suitable buildings to preserve the cannon from injury. 

Town meetings were held in Providence and several other towns of 
the state early in 1809 to secure protection against the embargo.^ The 
petitions, memorials and resolves adopted at these meetings were pre- 
sented to the general assembly, a joint committee of which was ap- 
pointed to draft a memorial to Congress. In consequence of the devel- 
opments regarding the Farmers' Exchange Bank of Glocester, a law 
was enacted requiring banks and insurance companies thereafter to 
make annual reports to the assembly. There was no opposition to 
Governor Fenner 's re-election this year, but the Republicans nomi- 
nated Isaac Wilbour in opposition to Lieutenant-Governor Simeon 
Martin. The latter, however, was re-elected by 644 majority, Provi- 
dence contributing 352 and Newport 126 of that total. The Federal- 
ists obtained control of the assembly at this election, having 47 of the 
72 members of the house. In the fall of 1809 the Republicans started 
a Tammany society in Providence, and early the next year societies, or 
rather "tribes", as they called themselves, were started in Newport 
and Warwick, and rapidly increased in membership.- This organiza- 
tion was believed to have had great influence in bringing the Fenner 
and Ellery factions of the Republican party together in the spring of 
1810. The Federalists, or "Federal Republicans", as they called 

' For the address from the town of Providence, presented by William Jones, 
see Narr. Hist. Reg. vii, 385. 

^ See Jernegan, "The Tammany Societies of Rhode Island" in Brown Univ. 
Hist. iSem. Papers, No. 8. 



294 State of Rhode IsiiAND and Providence Plantations. 

themselves, nominated Fenner and Martin for re-election. Their 
ticket was known as the "American Union Prox", while they called 
that of their opponents the "Tammany Prox". Governor Fenner, 
who headed both tickets, came out in a card a few days before election, 
denying a rumor that he was a Federalist, and affirming that he was 
then and always had been a Eepublican. It was too late for the Fed- 
eralists to change their ticket, and Fenner was elected without opposi- 
tion, but they crossed his name off from their party books. The Re- 
publican Prox, with Isaac Wilbour as candidate for Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor, won at the polls by an average majority of 206. The Republican 
vote in Providence advanced from 97 of the year previous to 152, and 
the Federalist vote from 449 to 489. The sentiments of a community 
can often be judged by those expressed on convivial occasions. At the 
celebration of Washington's birthday in Providence this year, an 
occasion which was participated in by a large concourse of citizens, 
"accompanied by the reverend clergy", Madison was toasted in these 
terms: "The President, may the condemning shade of Washington 
admonish and reclaim him. ' ' 

The Republicans elected a majority of both houses in April, 1810, 
and Nathaniel Hazard of Newport was elected to the speakership of 
the house over AVilliam Jones of Providence, the Federalist candidate, 
who had held the office two terms. But at the semi-annual election 
for representatives in August, the Federalists obtained a small major- 
ity, and William Jones was reinstated as presiding officer in October. 
The term of Elisha Mathewson as United States senator expired 
March 4, 1811, and the two houses of the general assembly, on Novem- 
ber 2, 1810, met in grand committee, with Governor Fenner in the 
chair, to elect his successor. The contest was between Jeremiah B. 
HoAvell, the first senator, and James Burrill, jr., the attorney-general 
of the state, the Federalist candidate. The two parties appear to have 
been evenly balanced, each having 41 votes, without taking the gov- 
ernor into account. But Governor Fenner, without waiting for the 
announcement of the vote, and then casting his vote to break the tie, 
voted as a member of the grand committee for Howell. His election 
was thus assured, the ballot resulting in 42 votes for Howell and 41 for 
Burrill. The Federalists were quite indignant at the Governor's 
action, and also blamed Howell for voting for himself, and the house 
by a majority of five passed a resolution censuring Governor Fenner 
for his unusual course. 

In February, 1811, a bill granting to all male citizens who were 
rated for either a poll or a property tax, or who served in the militia, 
a right to vote for general officers and town representatives, passed the 
senate with only two dissenting votes. When it reached the house, 
according to a Republican newspaper,^ the leading Federalists, several 

' The Providence Phoenix. 



The Administration of the Fenners, 1790-1811. 295 

of whom were lawyers, held an informal caucus, and decided to insist 
that the advocates of the bill, most of whom were farmers and unaccus- 
tomed to speechmaking, should give their reasons for favoring it. 
This was done, but the farmers were reinforced by James De Wolfe 
of Bristol.^ The weight of eloquence, however, if not of argument, 
was with the Federalists. After William Hunter, the Federalist 
leader in the house, and Messrs. Bridgham and Mason of Providence 
and Totten of Richmond had spoken against it, it was postponed by a 
vote of 39 to 19. The "yea" vote represented the full Federalist 
strength, and, as the Republicans had 33 members in the house, they do 
not seem to have been unanimously in favor of the bill. During the con- 
sideration of this bill a petition, presented by Mr. De Wolfe of Bristol, 
asked for a better enforcement of the law regarding freeholders. It 
called attention to the fact that 122 new voters had been "propound- 
ed" at Providence during a short time, an increase which the petition- 
ers evidently believed to have been been largely due to fraud. Provi- 
dence was a growing town. It was now considerably larger than 
Newport, and was the third town in New England, and the ninth in 
the country. Its valuation, according to the state estimate, was more 
than double that of Newport, and the latter and the country towns 
were already watching it with jealous eyes, lest it gain more than its 
due from legislation. The Republican papers claimed that the politi- 
cal overturn which took place this year (1811) was entirely owing to 
the increased Federalist vote in Providence, and they charged the 
Federalists with fraudulent practices in creating new voters. The 
Federalists were through with Governor Fenner. They nominated 
Speaker William Jones of Providence for Governor. After support- 
ing Fenner for four years they had discovered -that he was unfit for 
office. William Jones, they said, was a worthy citizen ; he was a 
veteran of the Revolution, and a regular attendant upon divine ser- 
vice, while the candidate of the "Jacobins" (Fenner) only attended 
on Thanksgiving day. The arguments of the Republicans were equally 
shallow. They denounced the opposing candidate as "a haberdasher 
of British hardware", probably in allusion to the fact that he kept 
imported goods in his Providence store. Jones was elected by only 172 
majority in the largest vote (7,508) ever polled up to that time. The 
Federalists increased their vote in Providence from 489 to 679, while 
that of the Republicans had fallen from 152 to 147. The Federalists 
also secured control in the legislature, their majority in the house 
being eight. ^ 

1 James De Wolfe (1763-1S37) was speaker of the house from May, 1819, to 
February, 1821, when he resigned to take his seat in the United States senate. 
He succeeded William Hunter (1774-1849), who was speaker of the house from 
May, 1811, to February, 1812, and United States senator from December, 1811, 
till March 4, 1821. 

" For a somewhat detailed account of political conditions in Rhode Island up 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



THE PERIOD FROM 1812 TO 1830. 



The Republicans tried conclusions with their opponents again in 
1812, but the people of the state, especially those who had shipping and 
commercial interests, were great sufferers from the embargo and non- 
intercourse policy of Madison's administration, and were alarmed at 
the prospect of Avar with Great Britain.^ At a large meeting of young 
men, held in the state house in Providence, just before election, strong 
resolutions were passed, denouncing the approaching war, and recom- 
mending the support of the Federalist ticket. The latter won by an 
increased majority. At the May session a joint committee of the 
general assembly was appointed to voice the latter 's sentiments regard- 
ing public affairs, to draw up a statement concerning the exposed con- 
dition of the coast, and to recommend instructions to Rhode Island 
members of Congress. In accordance with the report of this commit- 
tee, the assembly adopted a resolution, opposing a declaration of war 
against Great Britain, and requested the senators of the state in 
Congress to endeavor to secure the removal of restrictions on com- 
merce. At the July session a council of war of six leading citizens 
of the state was elected to confer with and advise Governor Jones. A 
petition, adopted at a meeting of freeholders in Providence, and pre- 
sented at the October session, prayed for the enactment of a law for- 
bidding the ''distillation of grain into spirituous liquors". The house 
negatived the proposition by a decisive vote, but Speaker Mason, of 
Providence, who seems to have been largely interested in a distillery, 
was declared by a Republican newspaper to have indignantly asked if 

to this period, see S. H. Allen's "Federal Ascendency in 1812" in Narr. Hist. 
Reg. vii, 381. 

' The sentiment in Rhode Island, to quote the words of Benjamin Cowell, 
was that " a British war is unnecessary as it would be unjust". (See his anony- 
mous Letter to a Member of Congress on the Subject of a British War, p. 32. \ The 
Rhode Island representatives in Congress, Richard Jackson and E. R. Potter, 
addressed their constituents with a i)amphlet, dated March 16, 1812, in which 
they urged them to cast off all party lines and vote against those favoring such 
measures. 



The Period from 1812 to 1830. 297 

he was to be allowed to conduct his own business, or if he was to be 
hampered by restrictive legislation.^ 

AVhen news of the declaration of war reached Providence, bells were 
tolled, stores closed, and flags half-masted. The Providence Gazette 
of June 27, 1812, in commenting upon the report of the committee on 
foreign relations recommending war, declared that ''they reported in 
several heavy columns their malignant, hostile manifesto against Great 
Britain, and with gigantic strides and ostentatious swellings, had 
thrown down the gauntlet of defiance to John Bull, in favor of the 
atrocious murderer and incendiary Napoleon Bonaparte". It de- 
clared the action of Congress "a work of darkness". "We are now'", 
it said, "to contend against an oppressed nation gloriously struggling 
for the preservation of its liberties". Although the supporters of the 
national administration still constituted a strong minority, public 
opinion in the state was generally opposed to war. On the night of 
July 20 a small schooner which was being fitted out in Providence for 
a privateer, was taken down the river and scuttled. 

At the presidential election in November, the Madison ticket re- 
ceived only 2,084 votes to 4,032 for DeWitt Clinton, the Federalist 
candidate. In the August previous, Richard Jackson, jr., and Elisha 
R. Potter, the Federalist candidates, were elected to Congress over 
Jonathan Russell and Isaac Wilbour, by about 1,300 majority. 

A committee was appointed at the February session of the general 
assembly in 1813 to consider whether any violation of the compact by 
which Rhode Island had accepted the Federal constitution had occurred. 
In messages to the assembly, Governor Jones discussed the state's rela- 
tions to the Federal government, and stated that, in accordance with 
the advice of the council of war, he had determined that the final 
authority as to the use of the state's militia outside of its borders rest- 
ed with him and not with the President. The 500 men whom President 
Madison required as the state's quota, were, however, drafted and dis- 
patched outside of the state upon Madison's requisition.^ The Gover- 
nor delivered messages on the subject at each session. The burden of 
them was that the country had been egged on to an unjust war, a war 
especially detrimental to Rhode Island's interests; that the coast of 
the state was in a defenseless condition ; that the general government 
had removed the garrisons from the Newport forts, and had invited 

' James B. Mason was speaker of the house from 1812 to 1814, and was elected 
representative to Congress in 1814 and 1816. He owned a gin distillery building 
at India Point, Providence, which was carried on during Mason's political career 
by Darius Sessions. 

I ^ For Rhode Island's participation in the War of 1812, see the bibliography at 
the end of the last volume, under HISTORY 1790-1840; also chapter on "The 
Wars and the Militia." For Commodore Perrv's victory at Lake Erie, Sept 10, 
1813, see the bibliography under BIOGRAPHY' See also chapter on •' The Sea 
Force in War Time. 



298 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the state to garrison them with state troops, but required the latter to 
accept the commands of a regular army officer. A memorial to the 
President, demanding the protection of the Federal government was 
adopted, and a resolution was passed, instructing the Governor to 
employ patrols to guard against surprise by the enemy. A commit- 
tee Avas appointed at the June session to collect evidence regarding 
Rhode Island seamen detained against their wishes in the service of 
foreign powers, and to take the most efficient measures to secure their 
release. The committee 's report, rendered at the June session, showed 
that the impressed seamen were 19 in number. No opposition was 
made to the Federal state ticket— which was known as the "Peace 
Prox." 

In his message to the general assembly in February, 1814, Governor 
Jones used extremely strong language in denouncing the action of the 
Federal government. The reverses which had occurred to our arms 
were apparently a just retribution, caused by an all- wise Providence 
because of the wickedness of the administration in bringing on an 
unjust war. "We should, however", the Governor said, "indulge the 
hope that our national rulers will remember that there is a point at 
which oppression must stop, and that, notwithstanding our respect for 
the laws and our strong attachment to the union of the states, there 
may be evils greater than can be apprehended from a refusal to submit 
to unconstitutional laws". This was a thinly veiled threat of seces- 
sion. The state joined with Massachusetts and Connecticut, two coun- 
ties of New Hampshire and one county of Vermont in holding the 
Hartford convention.^ At the September session. Governor Jones was. 
authorized to borrow $100,000 for the purpose of providing clothes 
and other necessaries for the state troops in the service of the general 
government, and he was requested to order the militia to march to the 
relief of a neighboring state, in case of the invasion of the latter 's 
territory. 

The Republican minority in the state criticised the state government 
because it did not assume the direct taxes assessed against the state, as 
it could, they claimed, have obtained a rebate. The freemen of Little 
Compton sent in a petition at the March session requesting such action, 
but the Federalists claimed that the direct tax law was unconstitu- 
tional, and refused to recognize it. The Federalist watchword, which 
accompanied its "Peace Prox" in April, of this year, was "No war; 
no direct taxes to support it ; but Jones, peace, and f reetrade togeth- 
er". The Republicans again allowed the election to go by default. 
They seemed to derive some consolation, however, from the fact that 
Governor Jones's vote was growing smaller each year, a circumstance 

' Rhode Island's delegates were Benjamin Hazard, Daniel Lyman, Edward 
Man ton, and Samuel Ward. The proceedings of the convention were published 
in 1833 in D wight's History of the Hartford Convention. 



The Period from 1812 to 1830. 299 

which was, of course, attributable to the lack of opposition. At the 
congressional election in Angnst, the Federalist candidates, James B. 
Mason and John L. Boss, jr., were elected by seven or eight hundred 
majority in a full vote. 

At the February session of the general assembly in 1815, Governor 
Jones reported that the state had advanced the money to pay for 
clothing and other needful articles for INIajor Wood's battalion of 
Khode Island soldiers in the United States service, and that the state 
also had advanced the money to pay that command a portion of the 
money due its soldiers upon the assurance of the United States author- 
ities that the sum would be refunded. The Governor laid before the 
assembly the proceedings of the Hartford convention and commended 
its action. The Governor's council of war was continued through the 
year.^ 

The Republicans held a convention of delegates from the several 
towns, and nominated Peleg Arnold for Governor in opposition to 
Governor Jones. The latter was re-elected, however, by a decisive 
majority, although the total vote was only 5,960. The Federalist 
majority in the house was 26. In November, 1815, the cotton manu- 
facturers of Rhode Island sent a memorial to Congress asking for more 
protection. 

The two parties had another trial of strength in April, 1816. Jere- 
miah Thurston of Hopkinton was placed on the ticket as their candi- 
date for Lieutenant-Governor by the Federalists. The Republicans 
nominated Nehemiah R. Knight, then clerk of the United States Cir- 
cuit Court, for Governor. The campaign was fought upon war issues. 
The Republicans accused their opponents of disloyalty, Avhile the Fed- 
eralists, in their appeal to the people, commended Governor Jones for 
having refused to obey the President's call for troops. Governor 
Jones received 3,591 votes, and was elected by 332 majority— 452 less 
than the year before. The Federalist strength in the house was 
somewhat less than usual, although it was still double that 
of their opponents. The leaders of the party, however, were 
sensible of the fact that their unpatriotic course during the 
war was a dead weight and must soon put them in the 
minority. Senator Howell's term in the United States senate was 
to expire on the 4th of the next ]\Iarch. It had always been customaiy 
to elect senators at the October session preceding the 4th of March 
"when their term was to commence. Had the Federalists waited in this 
instance until October, they would have had to take the chance of 
defeat at the semi-annual election of house members in August. They 
had obtained an unquestioned majority in the grand committee. Still 

' It was on September 33 of this year that the famous gale of 1815 occurred, 
causing tremendous damage throughout the state. (For accounts of this gale 
see R. I. H. 8. Publ. ii, 202, 232. ) 



300 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

it was less than they had had since 1811, and they knew that the August 
election might go against them. Therefore they decided to hold the 
election in June, and thus make sure of the choice of a Federalist. 
They carried the house on a motion to go into grand committee for the 
purpose by a vote of 40 to 20. Then, in balloting for senator, the 
Republicans abstained from voting, and the Federalist candidate, 
James Burrill, jr., was elected unanimously. The Republicans made a 
great outcry over the affair, insisting that it was an act of usurpation. 
The Federalist defense was rather weak, and finally, to silence criti- 
cism. Judge Burrill, at the February session in 1817, sent in his resig- 
nation. The August house Avas nearly as strongly Federal as its 
predecessor, and Mr. Burrill did not risk much in resigning, for he was 
immediately re-elected, the Republicans, as on his previous election, 
abstaining from voting. The Federalists made no nominations for 
presidential electors in 1816^ and the electoral vote of the state was 
cast for Monroe, the Republican candidate. 

In view of the fact that no opposition had been made to Monroe in 
the previous November, the Federalists claimed that the Republicans 
ought not to oppose the Jones ticket in April, 1817, but the Repub- 
licans thought, that if it was a question of courtesy, the fact that they 
had not opposed the Federalist candidates for Congress in August, 
1816, was a fair offset to the action, or non-action of their opponents 
in November. They again nominated Knight and Wilcox, and a warm 
campaign ensued. Political rallies were seldom held in the early days 
of the century. The issues of the day were generally explained by 
political pamphlets, or through the medium of the newspapers. Dur- 
ing Washington's and Adams's administrations, when the Federalists 
experienced but little opposition in the state, the Governor and other 
state officers and Federalist leaders in the assembly were accustomed to 
hold an informal caucus at the February session, and decide upon the 
party "prox" to be supported at the state election in April. These 
caucuses were probably as representative of party sentiments as have 
been delegate conventions of a later date, but after the Republicans 
became strong, they often had a majority or a strong minority of the 
general assembly. At such times the legislative caucus was not suffi- 
ciently representative, and prominent Federalists not then members of 
the assembly were invited to meet in caucus with the Federalist assem- 
blymen. The Republican caucuses were necessarily more democratic 
from the first, because the larger portion of the towns were represent- 
ed by their opponents, and because many of their ablest leaders resided 
in towns that invariably sent Federalists to the assembly. Republicans 
in towns unrepresented by Republican members of the assembly were 
invited to send delegates to the Republican conventions, and thus the 
conventions of that party gradually became delegate conventions, 
while those of their opponents in time became in a certain sense mass 



The Period from 1812 to 1830. 301 

conventions, attended by leading members of their party. It is easy to 
understand, however, that as the general assembly was usually in ses- 
sion about the last of February, and as it contained a large proportion 
of the politicians of both parties, the town where it was then in session, 
and the state house itself were the most convenient places in which to 
hold these political conventions, and that they were, in fact, if not in 
name, largely in the nature of legislative caucuses. 

When the opposing "proxies" were fairly launched, the party 
papers were filled with long political essays in the form of communi- 
cations, setting forth the political issues as the writers understood 
them, in which personal abuse of the candidates of the opposite party 
appeared to be considered the most weighty arguments. The Federal- 
ists, during the time of the French Kevolution and of the Bonaparte 
era which was its outcome, were accustomed to bestow the terms of 
"Jacobins" and "Democrats" upon their opponents; while the Re- 
publicans called the Federalists "Tories", "Monarchists" and "Aris- 
tocrats". For a few years, however, previous to 1817, the term 
"Jacobin" had gradually been falling into disuse on the part of their 
opponents, who had shown a desire to usurp the name of Republican 
by occasionally calling themselves "Federal Republicans". In the 
campaign which preceded the state election of 1817 there was a notice- 
able difference in their newspaper arguments from those of the pre- 
vious year. They had lost the aggressive feature. Instead of com- 
mending Governor Jones for refusing to allow the militia to be 
marched outside the state, they sought now to defend his action. He 
thought that he was doing his duty ; it was best for the state after all ; 
and his action had really saved the state much expense at a time when 
it was hard for the people to pay their taxes ; he had labored conscien- 
tiously for the best interests of his state. By such arguments they 
'" sought to defend and palliate conduct which their opponents declared 
i was disloyal.^ The Republican ticket was triumphant in a total vote 
I of 7,830 by an average majority of less than 70. The Republicans cast 
I 229 votes in Providence, which was 20 per cent, larger than their high- 
!est previous total, while Jones's vote in the town (544) was smaller 
than in 1816. A disagreeable incident occurred at Newport on elec- 
tion (inauguration) day, which led to a court martial of a militia 
officer and an exchange of compliments between the party organs. 
; According to the usual custom regular troops had been sent from Fort 
Wolcott to participate in the parade, and the band of the fort 
iwas also loaned for the occasion. The latter marched to the 

I ' This election gave rise to a well written electioneering pamplilet, addre'^sed 
by a " Citizen " of Warwick To the Freemen of the State of Rhode Island, in which 
the author defends Governor Jones, and told his readers: "If you elect Mr. 
Knight and his friends, you elect many of the hirelings and tax-gatherers of a 
government, which, by its misconduct the last twelve years, has brought the 

jj country to a state of mourning and misery." 



302 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

wharf to greet the Providence boat on its arrival. The band was 
placed under the orders of Captain Robert B. Cranston, a local militia 
officer who appeared to be acting, although in an unofficial capacity, as 
a master of ceremonies at that point. As the boat was tying at the 
wharf, Cranston called for some marches with which the band was 
unfamiliar. Thereupon, just as Governor Jones was stepping ashore, 
Cranston ordered the band to play the ''Retreat". Although he soon 
had it changed to "Yankee Doodle", Governor Jones interpreted the 
affair as an intentional insult. He was still the captain-general and 
commander-in-chief of the militia, and as such demanded the respect 
and obedience of militia officers. Cranston disclaimed any intention 
of insulting his excellency, and the Republicans generally made light 
of the affair. But the Federalists still had a majority in the house, 
and at the following June session, a joint resolution was adopted order- 
ing a committee of inquiry to consider the case. The committee, which 
was composed of members of both parties, declared Cranston's conduct 
"highly improper, and derogatory to the dignity and honor of the 
state". A court martial was convened, but it decided that it had no 
jurisdiction, as the accused officer was not on duty and was in civilian's 
clothes at the time.^ 

President Monroe made a northern tour in the summer of 1817. He 
reached Newport June 29, and the next day went to Fall River, and 
from there to Bristol. The steamer "Fire Fly" conveyed him from 
the latter place to Providence, where he arrived in the evening. The 
next day, after visiting points of interest in the town, and seeing the 
' ' original cotton mill ' ' at Pawtucket, he proceeded on his way to Bos- 
ton. The citizens and officials, generally without distinction of party, 
united in doing honor to the Chief Magistrate of the nation. He was 
greeted with military and civic parades, the ringing of bells, salutes, 
illuminations and addresses. That of the town council of Providence, 
which was supposed to have been written by a prominent Federalist 
politician,- was so cordial and complimentary in its character as to 
receive the commendation of the Republican local organ, the Colum- 
bian Phoenix, which seldom praised anj^thing that emanated from 
a Federalist source. At the June session the senate, in view of the 
scarcity and high price of grain, passed an act, which was rejected by 

' The proceedings of the court martial, as officially reported by the judge ad- 
vocate, were published in 1817. Robert Bennie Cranston (1791-1873), although a 
Republican at this time, was subsequently found in the Whig ranks. His court 
martial did not cause him to lose caste in military circles, as he was made a lieu- 
tenant-colonel in 1818. Afterwards he was for a time sheriff of Newport county, 
and in 1837 was elected to Congress as a Whig, and was twice re-elected serving 
until 1843. In 1847 he was elected for the fourth term. He was afterwards 
elected mayor of Newport, but declined the office. In his will he bequeathed 
$75,000 to those poor of Newport " who were too honest to steal and too proud to 
beg." 

* Senator Burrill. 



The Period from 1812 to 1830. 303 

the house, prohibiting its use in the distillation of spirituous licjuor 
between June 30 and September 30 of that year, under penalty of a 
fine of $1,000, one-half of which was to go to the informer.^ In the 
representative elections in August the Republicans elected 33 and the 
Federalists 39 members of the house. 

At the February session of the assembly in 1818 a resolution was 
adopted calling for the records, papers and correspondence of the late 
council of war, and ordering them to be deposited with the secretary 
of state. The cotton and woolen manufacturers in and near Provi- 
dence sent a petition to Congress, early in the year, reciting the condi- 
tion of the two industries, and asking that the duties then existing 
upon foreign cotton and woolen products be made permanent. 

The Republicans renominated Governor Knight and the other state 
officers in 1818, while their opponents issued a "Union Prox", with 
ex-Congressman Elisha R. Potter at the head. The Federalists seemed 
to have but little hope of winning. In their newspaper arguments 
they carefully abstained from abuse of their opponents and even avoid- 
ed using the term "Federalist" in speaking of themselves. The total 
vote cast in this contest was the largest ever given at a gubernatorial 
election under the charter. Knight received 4,509, and Potter 3,893 
votes. The Republicans had two majority in the house, and now 
controlled both chambers. A proposition introduced at the June 
session of the assembly to extend the right of suffrage to citizens Avho 
were not freeholders, but who paid taxes or served in the militia, was 
postponed to the next session. The congressional election in August 
was not contested by the Federalists, Samuel Eddy of Providence, sec- 
retary of state, and Nathaniel Hazard, speaker of the house, being 
chosen. At the October session a committee, appointed to consider 
and report upon certain recommendations in the Governor's message, 
reported that it was not prepared to recommend free schooling for 
persons employed in manufacturing establishments. A committee was 
appointed at this session to consider and report upon the expediency 
of amending the act regulating the manner of admitting freemen. 

At the February session in 1819 a committee was appointed to con- 
sider the advisability of establishing free schools. jNIr. Hine of Coven- 
try introduced a resolution in the house requesting freemen, at the 
annual election in April, to express their opinions regarding the expe- 
diency of calling a convention to form a written constitution. On 
motion of Benjamin Hazard of Newport, the matter was postponed, 
and a committee was appointed to take the matter into consider-ation, 
and also consider and report regarding fraudulent practices at elec- 

' The fact that the senate was then controlled by the Republicans leads to 
the suspicion that the advocates of this proposed prohibition measure had Con- 
gressman Mason's India Point distillery in mind and that the non-concurrence 
of the house in the measure was due to its having a Federalist majority. 



304 State of Rhode Island and Pkovidence Plantations. 

tions. No opposition was made at the April election to the Republican 
ticket, although political lines were drawn in the choice of town repre- 
sentatives. 

At the February session of the assembly in 1820, George Field of 
Cranston introduced a bill for the establishment of a free school system 
throughout the state, which, after a brief discussion, was postponed to 
a future session in order to obtain the sense of the freemen regarding 
the matter. A law was passed abolishing the summary process in the 
collection of debts, which had always been enjoyed by the banks. A 
bill passed the senate in June to extend the right of suffrage to citizens 
equipping themselves and serving in the militia. It was postponed 
by the house. The subject of a constitutional convention was quite 
generally discussed throughout the state this year. A convention 
was held in Providence to further such an object. Two of the Feder- 
alist semi-weeklies of the town united with the Republican organ in 
its advocacy, and one of the former^ declared in an editorial "that a 
free people have for more than forty years submitted to a species of 
government, in theory, if not always in practice, as despotic as that of 
the autocrat of the Russias. " 

The Federalists made no contest in April, but they tried conclusions 
with their opponents in August in the congressional election, although 
they did not come out under their own colors, but hoisted the banner 
of the "People". They put in nomination, as the People's 
candidates Samuel W. Bridgham, a leading Federalist, and 
Job Durfee, of Tiverton. The latter came out in a card 
in the papers, declaring that his name had been used 
without his consent, and that he should vote for Messrs. Eddy and 
Hazard, the Republican candidates. Mr. Eddy had voted to admit 
Missouri at the late session of Congress, and the Federalists appealed 
to the anti-slavery sentiment of the people to encompass his defeat. 
Mr. Hazard, the other representative in Congress, was not very popu- 
lar, and the Republicans were somewhat fearful of the result. But 
they feared Bridgham more than they did Durfee. They denounced 
the former because he was not a native of the State, and because he 
was a lawyer. The Providence Patriot in an editorial declared, ' ' They 
(the Federalists) profess to be actuated by the cardinal principles of 
honesty, integrity and fair dealing, and yet they nominate a practicing 
lawyer!" One candidate of each party— Eddy and Durfee— were 
elected. No opposition was encountered by the Monroe candidates for 
electors, but the vote was very small— only 720 in all, of which Provi- 
dence cast only 81. 

The Republicans had a small majority in the assembly at the October 
session, and they elected James De Wolfe to the United States senate 
on November 4, to succeed William Hunter, whose term would expire 

' The Manufacturers' and Farmers' Journal, November 27, 1820. 



The Period from 1812 to 1830. 305 

on March 4, 1821. Some years before, Mr. De Wolfe had been exten- 
sively engaged in the slave trade, and when the Federalist journals 
called attention to this fact, he declared that it had been ' ' many, many 
years" since he had trafficked in slaves, and that the greater portion of 
his property had been obtained in honorable employment.^ Anti- 
slavery sentiment was very strong in New England at this time, and 
Senator Smith of South Carolina, in a speech in the winter of 1820-21, 
undertook to prove the insincerity of Rhode Island antagonism to 
slavery by showing the interest of the state in the African slave trade. 
He said that the law against the importation of slaves into his state 
had been suspended for four years, from 1800 to 1804, inclusive, and 
that during that time 59 Rhode Island vessels— nearly one-half of the 
whole number— had entered the port of Charleston with shiploads of 
African slaves, and of the 59, 10 had been owned by Senator-elect 
James De Wolfe.- 

The Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic 
Industry, which subsequently became an important factor in the in- 
dustrial development of the state, was organized in 1820. It held its 
first fair in 1821 at Pawtuxet. The census of 1820 gave Providence a 
population of 11,767, of whom 5,118 were on the west side of the river. 
Westminster street was already beginning to rival "Cheapside" as a 
resort for ladies looking for bargains.^ The rapid growth of the town 
about this time is shown by a writer in the Providence Gazette of 
September 5, 1820, who stated that he counted one day one hundred 
and seven wagons of fruit and vegetables at market, while only six 
years before the presence of forty-nine such wagons at market was a 
matter of surprise and remark. This year public lamps were erected 
at the expense of the town. A fire hook and ladder company was also 
established. 

A resolution was passed at the January session of the general 
assembly in 1821, requiring town clerks to collect and transmit infor- 
mation regarding schools and the cost of the same in their respective 
towns. At the same session. Representative Dexter Ford of Provi- 
dence introduced a resolution which passed both houses to submit the 
question of calling a constitutional convention to the people at the 

'The Providence Gazette retorted: "More humane, honorable, successful and 
constitutional business — that of privateering!" 

- Ehode Island's participation in the slave trade was indeed large. As far 
back as May 1, 1784, the Newport Mercury liad admitted, " It is well known that 
inhabitants of this state have had a greater hand in the slave trade than any 
other on the continent ". and the records show that this reputation was fully sus 
tained during the next twenty-five years. (See Spears, American Slave Trade. ) 

^ A local news item in the Manufacturers' and Farmers' Journal of April 8, 1822, 
says: "A number of shops have lately been fitted up in superb style for the re- 
tail dry goods trade. The pleasant promenade on the north side of the street 
will probably be more frequented than ever by our belles and beaux." 
20-1 



306 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

town meetings in April. All the Providence papers, without distinc- 
tion of party,* favored the convention project, and at the election the 
town voted 598 to 2 in favor of it. Six other towns of Providence 
county, the three towns of Bristol county. East Greenwich in Kent 
county, and Hopkinton in AVashington county, also gave majorities in 
its favor ; while Newport county w^as solid against it, as were Kent and 
Washington counties— with the single exceptions noted — and three of 
the towns in Providence county also opposed it. Newport gave 57 
votes in favor and 275 against a convention. The total vote w'as, yeas 
1,619, to 1,905 nays. A leading argument in the Providence papers in 
favor of the project was the inequality of representation existing 
under the charter, which gave Newport six, Providence, Warwick and 
Portsmouth four each, and the remaining towns only two representa- 
tives. The equalization of the representation under a new^ constitution 
would have deprived some of the smaller towns, and Newport as well, 
of a portion of the representation which they then had, in favor of 
Providence, Smithfield and other growing towns. 

Senator James Burrill, jr., having died on December 25, 1820, 
Governor Knight called a special session of the general assembly to 
choose his successor, and was himself unanimously selected for the 
coveted position. On January 9, 1821, the Republican state conven- 
tion, which was held soon after, placed William C. Gibbs of Newport 
in nomination for Governor, with Caleb Earle as the nominee for 
Lieutenant-Governor. The Federalist party was no longer in exist- 
ence, but, although this once powerful body had lost many 
followers by desertion to the party in power, it still constituted a 
strong minority, ready to renew the figfit at a favorable opportunity. 
An attempt was made this year to form a union ticket in opposition to 
the Republican Prox. Samuel W. Bridgham was placed at the head of 
the ticket, with Ezbon Sanford of North Kingstov/n, a Republican, for 
Lieutenant-Governor. About half of the candidates selected for the 
senatorial ticket for this "Union Prox" were also Republicans. Most 
of the latter, and the nominee for Lieutenant-Governor declined to 
have their names used on this ticket, and changes had to be made, 
George W. Tillinghast, of North Kingstown being substituted for 
Sanford. Gibbs received 3,801 votes, exactly a thousand more than 
were polled for Bridgham. 

In October, 1821, a court martial was held at East Greenwich to try 
Colonel Leonard Blodget of the Second Regiment, who was charged 
by Brigadier-General Joseph Hawes with unmilitary and disorderly 
conduct, neglect of duty, and disobedience of orders. The court-mar- 
tial, of which Brigadier-General George De Wolf was president, found 
the accused officer guilty of the charges and specifications, and sen- 
tenced him to be "broke". It is not known whether the murder of the 
King's English, or the injustice done the accused by the sentence had 



The Period FROM 1812 TO 1830. 307 

the greater weight with Major-General Albert C. Greene, the ranking 
officer of the militia at the time, but he overruled the sentence;, and 
merely suspended the convicted officer from his command for thirty 
days/ While it was generally admitted that the sentence of the court- 
martial was unduly severe, General Greene met with considerable 
criticism for assuming authority to overrule the sentence of a court- 
martial. 

This year the "side-walk commissioners" of Providence "com- 
menced their herculean labors of making the rough places smooth and 
the crooked straight in the foot-ways through the town".- The in- 
creased expenses of the town, involved in this and other recent public 
improvements, alarmed some of the older citizens, and at the June 
town meeting one of the heaviest taxpayers made a motion that the 
town watch and the street lights be discontinued during the summer 
months. The motion was negatived. 

An act was passed at the January meeting of the general assembly 
in 1822, forbidding the sale of rum, wine or strong liquor within one 
mile of any meeting being held for the worship of Almighty God. 
Another important law enacted at this session imposed a fee upon 
licensed persons and others, and bodies corporate, which was to be 
collected by town officers without remuneration and turned over to the 
state treasurer. After a year or two the towns were allowed two-and- 
a-half per cent, for making the collections. Another law forbade the 
running at large of cows in the business portion of Providence between 
the 10th of November and the 10th of April, except on Sundays, and 
between 8 at night and sunrise. The constitutional convention ques- 
tion came up again at this session, and the matter was again submitted 
to the freemen at the April town meetings. The friends of the meas- 
ure appear to have been discouraged by the adverse vote of the year 
previous, and it was again defeated, the vote being 843 to 1,804. Prov- 
idence cast 110 in favor and 26 against a convention. At the June 
session, ex-Congressman Elisha R. Potter, then a member of the house 
from South Kingstown, introduced a bill to increase the representation 
of Providence in the house to seven members and that of Smithfield, 
South Kingstown, Bristol, Coventry and North Kingstown to three 
each.^ The bill by common consent was laid over till the next session, 
that being then a favorite way of disposing of unpopular measures. 

' It appears that General Hawes as le vie wing officer had exceeded his author- 
ity in giving Colonel Blodget orders to march his men to a certain location and 
dismiss them. The orders were ignored, and subsequently, when Hawes ordered 
his arrest, Colonel Blodget resisted. The report of Blodget's trial was pub- 
lished at Providence in 1821. 

■ Staples, Annah of Providence, p. 386. 

3 The population of Rhode Island towns of over 3,000 inhabitants in 1820 was 
as follows: Providence, 11,767: Newport, 7,319; Smithfield, 4,678: South Kmgs- 
town, 3,723; Warwick, 3,643; Bristol, 3,197; Coventry, 3,139 ; North Kingstown, 



308 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

A bill to reduce the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court from five 
to three was passed by the house at this session, but did not get through 
the senate. The Rhode Island Historical Society was chartered at 
this session. 

The Republican state ticket met with no opposition either in 1822 or 
1823 ; nor were Messrs. Eddy and Durfee opposed in the congressional 
election in August, 1822. Mr. Durfee, who had declared himself a 
Republican when placed on the opposition ticket two years before, 
was now accepted as the candidate of the dominant party. But, 
although the opposition did not deem it expedient to hazard a contest 
on general issues, it Avas always in evidence at the representative 
elections, and in August, 1822, it succeeded in securing one-half of the 
total (72) membership of the house. When the new house was or- 
ganized in October, several of the Republican members were sick and 
unable to attend, and the "Federal Republicans" had a clear majority. 
So it happened that when the senate, which was unanimously Repub- 
lican, invited the house to meet in grand committee to elect a United 
States senator, the house refused. On January 17, 1823, the two houses 
assembled in grand committee, and re-elected Senator Knight for six 
years, on the second ballot, by 40 votes to 39 for ex-Congressman 
Potter. 

The year 1823 witnessed a slight collision of interests in this state 
between steam and sail passenger boats. The Fulton company of New 
York had built several steamboats for the Sound and the Hudson 
river services. A line of packets for passengers and freight was put 
on between New York and Providence, which also called at certain 
Connecticut ports. The New York legislature had attempted to give 
the company an exclusive franchise in New York waters, and, although 
its right so to do was subsequently denied by the Federal judges, its 
monopoly seems to have been in force some time before the decision 
Avas rendered. The Connecticut legislature, in retaliation, had 
excluded the New York boats from Connecticut ports. This ''em- 
bargo" of course had a tendency to increase the travel and traffic 
between the metropolis and Rhode Island ports, but the sailing packet 
interest, which had already experienced a loss of business in conse- 
quence of the advent of steam, tried to secure the passage of an act by 
the Rhode Island legislature, at Newport in May, practically to exclude 
its powerful rival from Rhode Island waters. A petition from New- 
port and other shore towns asked the assembly for an act to prevent 
the New York boats from navigating Rhode Island waters, unless the 
Fulton company should grant reciprocal rights to Rhode Island citi- 
zens. A bill actually passed the senate imposing a tax of 50 cents a 

3,007. Newport then had six members, while Warwick and Portsmouth, which 
had only 1,645 inhabitants, each had four, they constituting, with Newport and 
Providence, the four original towns. 



The Period from 1812 to 1830. 309 

head upon all passengers brought into Narragansett bay by steam- 
boats. The house referred the bill to a committee, which was to 
report at a subsequent session, but before it had completed its duties, 
the United States Court had decided that such legislative attempts 
to impede inter-state commerce were unconstitutional. 

The question of a constitutional convention was a subject of debate 
all through the year, both in the general assembly and in the state at 
large. At the June session of the general assembly, Elisha R. Potter 
revived the subject by offering a resolution to issue a mandatory call 
for the election of delegates to a constitutional convention, without 
waiting for the previously attempted popular initiative. The resolu- 
tion was laid on the table until October, when a committee was elected 
to bring a bill for a convention. The committee was unable to agree, 
and another committee was appointed for the purpose. The latter 
finally reported a resolution, at the session of Januarj^, 1824, calling a 
convention of delegates, equal in number to the representation of the 
several towns in the house. The resolution was adopted and the free- 
men of the several towns elected delegates in June. 

The movement in favor of the adoption of a written constitution at 
this time was entirely non-partisan. While its earliest advocates had 
been more numerous in the country than in the larger villages, and 
were consequently more Republican than Federalistic in sentiment, at 
this time the sentiment favorable to a change was stronger in Provi- 
dence, the growing towns of Providence county, and in Bristol and 
Warren than elsewhere. As any attempt at an equalization of the 
representation of the house on the basis of population must reduce 
the representation then existing of Newport, Warwick and Ports- 
mouth, those towns were opposed to a change, and they were aided in 
the fight by the small toM-ns generally, which already scented danger 
from the rapidly-growing young giant at the head of Narragansett 
bay. Hence it happened that conditions had been somewhat reversed, 
and Providence, the populous town and the Federalist stronghold, was 
clamorous for a constitutional convention, while most of the small 
Republican towns were now opposed to it. No attempt, however, was 
made to give any political tone to the matter. Providence selected two 
leading Republicans along with two Federalists to represent it, and 
party lines were ignored in the other towns. 

The convention met at Newport in June and prepared a constitution, 
which was to be submitted to the people in October. The proposed 
instrument, in the preparation of which ex-Congressman Potter, the 
president of the convention, seems to have been the most influential 
factor, did not change the freehold qualification for voters. It gave 
the Governor the power of veto, and made the Lieutenant-Governor the 
president of the senate, with only a casting vote in ease of a tie. The 
senate, which was to consist of ten members, chosen on a general ticket, 






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The Period from 1812 to 1830. 311 

was practically the same as under the charter. In the house of rep- 
resentatives, every town, however small, was to have two members; 
towns of three thousand and less than five thousand inhabitants were 
to have three ; towns of five thousand and under eight thousand, four; 
towns of eight thousand and under twelve thousand, five ; towns of 
twelve thousand and less than seventeen thousand, six; and towns of 
over seventeen thousand people, seven and no more.^ One session of 
the general assembly was to be held at Newport in May each year ; 
another session was to be holden each January, at Providence and 
South Kingstown alternately, while adjournments from the May 
session were to be held at East Greenwich, and adjournments from the 
January session in Bristol. The freemen rejected the proposed con- 
stitution by a decisive vote of 3,206 negative to 1,668 affirmative votes. 
Providence, North Providence, Smithfleld, Johnston, Glocester, and 
the three Bristol county towns were the only ones that gave majorities 
in its favor. Providence gave 653 votes to 26 in its favor, but New- 
port polled 531 ballots against it and only 5 affirmative ones, while 
several towns voted solidly against it. 

Governor Gibbs declining a renomination in 1824, the Republican 
convention selected ex-Governor Fenner as the standard bearer of the 
party, with Charles Collins of Newport as the candidate for Lieutenant- 
Governor. No opposition ticket was nominated, but two or three days 
before election a ticket with Wheeler Martin's name at the head was 
secretly circulated in Providence and a few other towns. It had little 
effect, although Martin, who was more acceptable to the Federalist 
element than Fenner, carried Providence, West Greenwich and War- 
ren, his vote in the former town being 165 to 159 for Fenner. As 
there was supposed to be no contest the vote of the state was a light 
one— only 2,751 in all— of which total Fenner received 2,146, and 
Martin 594. 

The report of the committee selected to make a new estimate of 
valuation for the state reported at the January session in 1824. The 
total for Providence was placed at $9,500,000, while that for Newport 
was $2,000,000. 

An event of considerable importance this year was the visit of 
Lafayette to Providence, which occurred on the 23d of August. He 
Qame by carriage from Plainfield, Connecticut, and was met at the 
western border of the town by a great military and civic procession. 
The ovation extended him was fully equal to that given Washington in 

' If the constitution had been adopted Providence would have had five mem- 
bers; Newport, four; Smithfleld, South Kingstown, Warwick, Bristol, Cov- 
entry and North Kingstown, three each; and the remaining twenty-three 
towns two each. This would have given a house of 73 members. Were such 
a basis of representation in force at the present time (1901), the six cities and 
the town of Warwick would each have seven members of the house, and the 
total membership would be 136. 



312 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

1790, and was participated in by the veterans of the Revolution^ and 
by their children and grandchildren. The festivities were brought to 
a conclusion by the inevitable banquet and toasts, in which Tristam 
Burges proposed the toast to the honored guest, in an eloquent and 
felicitous little speech.^ 

The presidential campaign this year in Rhode Island was possessed 
of some peculiar features. The opposing political parties had become 
considerably mixed, and many leading Republicans, as well as many 
who were formerly Federalists, were favorable to the election of Will- 
iam H. Crawford, who had secured the Republican Congressional 
caucus nomination. Many, however, of both party affiliations, de- 
sired John Quincy Adams. ^ The Republican convention to nominate 
presidential electors was called to meet in Providence, October 27, but 
a convention, called in Adams's interest, met on the 26th of that month 
and nominated electors. When the Republican convention met the 
next day, the ''machine" magnates who expected to endorse Craw- 
ford's candidacy without opposition, found themselves in a decided 
minority, and the Adams electors were unanimously endorsed by the 
convention. The popular vote in November was : Adams, 2,145 ; 
Crawford, 200. 

The most important legislation enacted by the general assembly in 
1825 was an act to transfer the jurisdiction of petitions for the benefit 
of insolvent debtors to courts of commissioners. Three courts were 
established ; one for Newport and Bristol counties ; a second one for 
Providence county ; and a third for Kent and AVashington counties. 

The town of Providence had maintained free schools since 1800. 
Newport adopted measures for the purpose in 1825, but not without 
strong opposition, which culminated in a petition to the general 
assembly from ex-Senator Christopher G. Champlin and one hundred 
and fifty others, who asked the assembly to declare the action of their 
town null and void. The assembly doubted its authority to interfere 
so radically with the rights of its premier capital, but it modified the 

1 As Lafayette entered the State House on North Main street, he recognized 
and cordially embraced Colonel Stephen Olney, who had served under him at 
Yorktown, and had been one of the first to penetrate the British works. For 
further details of Lafayette's visit, see Z. Allen's Memorial of Lafayette, Provi- 
dence, 1861. 

* Burges toasted Lafayette as the companion of Washington and the friend 
of Hamilton and Greene. The incident, and the fact that the placing of Ham- 
ilton by the side of Washington and Greene as a military hero met with no criti- 
cism, show the strong Federalist sentiment of Burges, and of Providence as 
well, a sentiment that still lived, although no man then, when the memory of 
the Hartford convention was fresh in the minds of the people, had the moral 
courage to declare himself a Federalist. 

3 Two anonymous pamphlets, one entitled Principles and Men, advocating the 
election of Adams, and the other, entitled Pro and Con, urging the claim of 
Crawford, appeared in Providence in 1833. 



The Period from 1812 to 1830. 313 

town's action in appropriating $2,000, by authorizing it to use not to 
exceed $800 for the free education of "white children." 

The dead calm which was resting on the political waters was dis- 
turbed in the summer by a lively contest over congressmen. It had 
been customary to hold the congressional elections during the August 
preceding the fourth of IVIarch on which the terms of the members 
began, but by resolution of the general assembly in June, 1823, the 
date of election was changed from August, 1824, to August, 1825. 
The Republican convention for the nomination of successors to Messrs. 
Eddy and Durfee was called, according to the usual custom, to meet at 
Newport, during the June session of the general assembly. But few 
delegates were elected, and, as was customary in such cases, Republican 
assemblymen from the unrepresented towns acted as delegates in the 
convention. Mr. Eddy was renominated Avithout a contest, but Mr, 
Durfee was not so fortunate. He was beaten in the convention by 
Dutee J. Pearce of Newport. The defeated candidate claimed that the 
convention did not fairly represent the wishes of the freemen, and 
announced himself as a candidate for re-election. The old Federalist 
element, which had never been cordial in the support of the candidates 
named for them by the Republican conventions, which were— they 
claimed— a mere reflex of the wishes of Bennett H. "Wheeler, the editor 
of the Providence Patriot, seized the opportunity to hold a conference 
and nominate Tristam Burges of Providence for Congress. William 
Hunter of Newport was also named. The original Republicans 
opposed Burges because, as was claimed, he had been a Federalist, and 
was still one in sentiment, and neither he nor any of his supporters 
dared either acknowledge or defend the "heresy". Burges received 
2,932 votes ; Pearce 2,534 ; Durfee 2,468 ; Eddy 2,121 ; and Hunter 364. 
Burges was declared the only one elected, and a second trial took place 
in November, when Pearce was chosen. 

A municipal census, taken this year, gave Providence a population 
of 15,941, of which number 8,729 were on the east and 7,212 on the 
west side of the river, and of whom 1,414, or nearly ten per cent., were 
colored. The Providence papers about this period frequently com- 
plained of the numbers of colored people in the town, a large percent- 
age of whom were, they asserted, lawless and idle. This year thirty 
acres of land at Field's Point were purchased by the town of Provi- 
dence for $4,500, or $150 an acre. 

James De AVolfe having resigned his seat in the United States senate, 
Asher Robbins, Republican, of Newport, was elected in his place, on 
November 5, 1825, by the general assembly, by a small majority over 
Elisha R. Potter. 

The assembly in January, 1826, passed an act forbidding members 
of the courts of commissioners being members of either house of the 
general assembly, but the act itself constituting that court, together 



314 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

with all other acts for the relief of insolvent debtors were repealed in 
June by four majority in the house and one in the senate. The de- 
bate over this matter attracted a good deal of attention, on account of 
its importance, and because of the ability of the debaters, some of the 
best legal talent in the state being arrayed on each side. Ex-Con- 
gressman Potter led the fight for repeal, and was given credit by his 
political enemies for the final outcome. The lottery question attracted 
considerable attention this year, and the propriety of suppressing this 
form of gambling was already being discussed. 

The manifestations of grief when ne^vs was received of the deaths of 
ex-President Adams and Jefferson, and the tributes to their memory 
which were bestowed in equal degree, showed that the former feeling, 
so prevalent in the state against the Sage of Monticello, had been 
greatly modified. At the time of Jefferson's death, a public subscrip- 
tion was being raised throughout Rhode Island to assist in relieving his 
pecuniary embarrassments, and one of the most responsive toasts given 
in Providence on the Fourth was the hope that the venerable patriot 
would not be compelled to dispose of Monticello by lottery. 

As a United States senator to succeed Senator Robbins w^ould, in the 
regular order of things, be chosen at the October session of the assem- 
bly this year, considerable interest was manifested in the August 
semi-annual election of members of the house. It Avas assumed that 
Mr. Potter would again be a candidate, and Mr. Robbins 's friends, 
especially in Providence, urged the freemen to return men pledged to 
support him. Mr. Potter was accused of all manner of political here- 
sies, and among other things of being an enemy of the town of Provi- 
dence. The Providence Manufacturers' and Farmers' Journal was 
particularly bitter in its denunciations. A f ew^ weeks before the meet- 
ing of the assembly, ]\Ir. Potter came out in a letter in the Providence 
]\Iicrocosm, in which he struck back at his opponents, and insinuated 
that Senator Robbins had been guilty of questionable conduct, when 
he held the position of United States district attorney under Presi- 
dent Monroe. This compelled Senator Robbins to publish affidavits to 
clear his reputation. When the time for the choice of senator^ in 
grand committee arrived, ]\Ir. Potter, who was a member of the house 
from South Kingstown, declined being a candidate, and Senator Rob- 
bins was unanimously re-elected. 

A new judiciary law^ was enacted in January, 1827, which involved 
some reforms in procedure, and reduced the justices from five to three. 
Some of the judges who expected to be displaced under the action of 
this law secretly circulated a "prox", just before the April election, 
in the attempt to defeat four of the senators w^hose votes had assisted 
in the passage of the ncAv law. The attempt, however, was a failure, 
as the judges' candidates received on an average only about 525 votes. 
An attempt was made at the May session to repeal the new law, but, 



The Period prom'1812 to 1830. 315 

although Mr. Potter favored such action, the house rejected the act of 
repeal, the vote on its passage being 25 to 41. 

The temperance movement, at least in its public manifestations, had 
its inception in Providence this year. A public meeting Avas held in 
April in the First Baptist meeting house, at which resolutions were 
passed in some measure condemnatory of the liquor evil.^ Governor 
Fenner, than whom few public men in Rhode Island history have been 
more successful in trimming their sails to catch an approaching breeze, 
must have had a premonition of the coming temperance deluge, 
for on election day at Newport, in May, he abstained from treating, 
and instead thereof gave $100 to the Newport public school fund. 
Lieutenant-Governor Collins, following the example of his superior, 
also gave $50 to the fund. 

Considerable rivalry existed betv\^een the original Republicans, and 
those of the newer (Federalist) brand, as to which were the truest 
friends of President Adams's administration. Both parties claimed 
to be truly loyal thereto, and no Republicans were considered genuine 
without the Adams "hall-mark". The newer faction stole a march 
upon the Patriot regulars, at Newport in June, by calling a caucus of 
"Senators, Representatives and people", who were supporters of 
President Adams's administration, to meet on the day previous to the 
regular Republican congressional convention. The caucus, which was 
well attended, renominated Messrs. Purges and Pearce, and the regu- 
lars doing the same, the two congressmen were re-elected without 
opposition. 

The "Administration party" again forestalled the Patriot Repub- 
licans in nominating a "prox" for the April election of 1828. All of 
the old officers except four senators were renominated. The Repub- 
lican convention renominated the old ticket with two exceptions, and 
the two senators left out of both proxies — one of whom openly avowed 
himself a Jackson man — ran independently and failed of election. 
Two of the senators who were "turned down" by the "Administration 
prox" were elected, and the other two were defeated.- 

A free school law was passed at the January term of the general as- 
sembly in 1828. The receipts from lottery managers and agents and the 
duties obtained from auctioneers had been allowed to accumulate for a 
year ortwoforthe purpose, and by the terms of the law now enacted, ten 
thousand dollars of such receipts were to be divided each year among 
the several towns in proportion to their several school populations, to 
be used for the support of fi-ee schools. Five thousand dollars of the 

' For a history of the temperance cause in Providence, see a series of sketches 
by S. S. Wardwell in the Pr<n\ Journal for 1859. 

This strife over the election of state senators brought out two pamphlet ad- 
dresses, both anonymous and both filled with the personal vituperation that so 
especially distinguished the politics of the period. 



316 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

accumulated receipts then in the state treasury were at once set apart 
as a permanent fund for the use of schools, and thereafter all state 
receipts from lotteries and auctioneers over and above the ten thousand 
dollars distributed to the several towns, were to be added annually to 
the permanent fund, Avhich was to be invested by the general treasurer 
in good bank stock. The towns were authorized to appropriate such 
additional sums for schools each year as a majority of the freemen of 
each, assembled in town meeting, should deem proper. A new law for 
the relief of insolvent debtors, which referred their petitions to the 
Supreme Judicial Court, was passed at this session. At the June ses- 
sion permission was given for the extension of a railroad, starting from 
Boston, from the Massachusetts state line to Providence. The legis- 
lators, who were accustomed to provide for the assessment of tolls by 
turnpike associations operating under state charters, gave the railroad 
company authority ' ' to take and exact from persons making use of the 
same (the railroad), reasonable tolls", and for that purpose to ''erect 
and keep up a toll-gate, together with the necessary appendages there- 
to". A toll gate upon a railroad seemed to be a very necessary provis- 
ion at that time. 

At the October session a resolution expressing confidence in Presi- 
dent Adams's administration, and in Henrj^ Clay, and advocating the 
President 's re-election, passed the house by a vote of 44 to 18. Presi- 
dent Adams passed through Providence, which he reached by the New 
York boat, on Sunday, August 10. Salutes were fired, and he was 
received cordially, and with as much attention and pomp as could be 
expected on the Lord's day. 

The Jeffersonian Republicans allowed the "Friends of the Admin- 
istration" to call the convention for the nomination of presidential 
electore, and the ticket selected was endorsed by them. Shortly before 
the election a Jackson weekly, the "Republican Herald", was started 
in Providence, and a Jackson Electoral Prox was put up.^ A large 
portion of the freemen of Rhode Island, however, looked upon Jackson 
with great distrust. The Manufacturers' and Farmers' Journal 
warned its readers shortly before the election that if the "INlilitary 
Chieftain" was chosen, the country would probably be ruined, and 
that the people then living might see established upon its ruins "a long 
line of sceptered kings". Even the Patriot, which had sounded the 
war cry of the plain people for many years, after Jackson's success 
seemed assured, regretted the result, but not so much because it dis- 
trusted the successful candidate, as because his candidacy had been 
dictated by British influence, and his election was due to the "wild 
Irish rabble of New York city. ' ' The Adams electoral ticket received 

' The Herald office also issued An address to the people of Rhode Island proving 
that more than eiqht millions of the public money has bien wasted by the present ad- 
ministration. By a Landholder, 1828. 



The Period from 1812 to 1830. 317 

2,754 votes, and the Jackson ticket 821. The vote of Providence was 
538 to 73 in favor of Adams, and that of Newport 290 to 66. The 
■wisdom of adopting a city form of government and establishing a high 
school was frequently discussed in Providence at this period. 

A bill was introduced at the January session in 1829 to repeal the 
27th section of the law for the assessment and collection of taxes, 
which exempted school and religious property from taxation. It 
passed the house by 9 majority and in the June following was accepted 
by the senate in an amended form, the exemption being retained on 
these classes of property when protected by charters. 

The free sutfrage party began to be heard from again this year. 
Meetings were held in several of the towns. Large assemblages were 
held in Providence in aid of the movement. One on the 28th of March 
was described by the Journal of that town as the largest meeting ever 
held in the state, as many as 1,200 to 1,500 being in attendance. Most 
of the leading citizens took part in the campaign, and all of the news- 
papers advocated the reform but the Jackson organ, which warned the 
farmers against giving Providence too much power. At the May 
session memorials were sent to the general assembly by the suffragists,^ 
but a motion by Wilkins Updike that the petitioners have leave to with- 
draw, put a stop to the movement at the June session. 

The state campaign of 1829 was a tight between the "General Ke- 
publicans" and the Democratic-Republicans (Jackson) on the sena- 
torial ticket, in which the latter elected eight of their ten candidates. 
A trial of strength took place in the house on "Election Day" over 
the speakership. The Regulars nominated Joseph L. Tillinghast of 
Providence, while the Jacksonians supported AVilkins Updike. The 
former was chosen, receiving 37 votes to 27 for Updike. The Jackson- 
ian Republicans were now the Administration party. The Providence 
Patriot accepted the situation and retained the advertising patronage 
of the national government. ]\Iany of the Republicans of the Jeffer- 
sonian stripe now aligned themselves with the radicals who had been 
supporting Jackson. Governor Fenner trimmed his sails to catch the 
Jackson breeze, and ex-Congressman Eddy, now chief justice of the 
Supreme Judicial Court, did likewise. ]\Iessrs. Purges and Pearce 
were nominated for re-election to Congress by the anti-administration 
Republicans, who now began to call themselves "National Republic- 
ans". The Jacksonians, who took the name of "General Republic- 
ans", put forward Judge Eddy and Job Durfee, while Elisha R. 

'The memorials were referred to a committee of which Benjamin Hazard 
was chairman. The report of this committee, known as Hazard's Report, was 
strongly adverse to the petitioners, urging that the franchise shovild be pre- 
served to the freehold class and denouncing "democracy" as a thing to be 
shunned. The argument, although specious and illiberal, had its effect with the 
"landholding" assembly. 



318 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Potter and John De Wolf, jr., also had some supporters.^ The two 
sitting congressmen were re-elected, however, by more than two thou- 
sand majority over all competitors. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
FROM 1830 TO THE DORR WAR. 

The National Republicans could no longer support Governor Fen-j 
ner. He w^as renominated at their convention in January, 1830,, 
but their newspapers repudiated him, and put Dr. Asa Messer of: 
Providence at the head of their ticket, with Nathan M. Wheaton fori 
Lieutenant-Governor. Fenner was re-elected, however, by over a 
thousand majority. The General Republican senatorial ticket was 
elected in most cases by small majorities. Elisha R. Potter was now 
fully committed to the Jackson party, and he w^as placed in nomination 
for speaker in May against Tillinghast. The latter w^on, however, by 
one vote, he receiving 34 and Potter 33. At the previous January 
session the latter had ofit'ered resolutions indorsing Jackson's adminis- 
tration. They were rejected, the vote standing 8 to 50. Mr. Potter, 
who was acknowledged by friends and foes alike to have been a man 
of great influence, seems to have been fairly driven into the Jackson 
camp. He was a constant target for many years for the shafts of the 
Providence press, and he, on his part, responded by generally opposing 
legislation favorable to Providence. Any measure which the Provi- 
dence delegation desired, if advocated by any country member, sub- 
jected the latter to tlie charge from Potter and his followers of being 
"the fifth member from Providence". At the June sesvsion in 1830, 
Mr. Potter presented a resolution — which, however, was laid on the 
table on his own motion — for the appointment of a committee to take 
into consideration the expediency of more effectually guarding the 
liberty of the press, and "protecting the citizens of the state against its 
licentious abuse." 

The town of Providence having, by majority vote in town meeting, 

' The election contests of this year 1839 were productive of no less than five 
electioneering pamphlets in which personal abuse, as usual, played an impor- 
tant part. The " Heruld office", the Jacksonian stronghold, started the ball roll- 
ing in April with some anonymous Iltritfi to the F(irmer.s of Rhode hhind. Replies 
and counter-charges followed in rapid succession, Tristam Burges himself tak- 
ing a hand in the controversy with an Addrei-ft to the Landholders and. Farmers of 
Ne<np >rt County. These pamphlets reveal much that is interesting in relation to 
the politics of the period. 



From 1830 to the Dorr War. 319 

expressed its desire to adopt a city form of government, was granted 
a city charter by the general assembly in January, but it was to be 
void unless accepted by a three-fifths vote of the freemen of the town. 
The charter was submitted to the voters of the city on February 15, 
1830, but although a majority of the votes polled— 383 to 345— were 
cast for it, it failed to receive three-fifths, and the proposition was 
lost.^ 

At the January session of the general assembly in 1831 the question 
of the relief of insolvent debtors again came up for legislation, and 
the provision by which petitions under it were referred to the Supreme 
Judicial Court was repealed. In June the maximum limit of school 
age was changed from sixteen to fifteen years. 

John Brown Francis of Warwick, a grandson of John Brown, one of 
the famous Brown family of Providence, was nominated for Governor 
by the National Kepublicans in January, 1831, and in the brief inter- 
val between his nomination and his declination of the honor, he was 
given such an excellent character— private and political— by the 
National Eepublican press, that when he was brought forward by their 
opponents two years later, they were obliged to abstain from the usual 
custom of that day— an attack upon a candidate's private charaeter. 
Mr. Francis declined the nomination, and Lemuel H. Arnold of Provi- 
dence was finally chosen to head the ticket.- Lieutenant-Governor 
Collins and the other state elective oificials— the secretary of state, 
attorney-general and general treasurer— were unobjectionable, and 
were put upon the ticket. The General Republicans renominated Gov- 
ernor Fenner, and the other state officers. The National Republican 
Prox, whose senatorial candidates were entirely distinct from that of 
the "Republican, Administration and Farmers' Prox", was endorsed 
by the anti-lNIasons, who were now becoming actively interested in 
politics, and it was elected by over 800 majority. The Administration 
Republicans were so badly beaten that they made no nominations for 
Congress in opposition to Messrs. Burges and Pearce, who were re- 
elected in August. A state convention was held by the manufacturing 
interests in October to appoint delegates to a national tariff conven- 
tion, to be held in New York. The National Republicans also held a 

' Providence had 16,836 inhabitants, according to the national census of 1830. 
It was now more than double the size of Newport, whose population was 8,010. 
The factory towns of Smithfield, Warwick, Scituate, Cumberland and North 
Providence were growing rapidlv, while the farming towns were at a standstill. 
Smithfield, the third town, had 6,857 inhabitants, and there were 5,529 in 
Warwick. 

■ During this and the following year, many abusive pamphlets were issued 
for election purposes. Governor Fenner's change in party affiliations and 
Arnold's connection with the Providence and Pawtucket Turnpike gave all op- 
portunity necessary for slander and vituperation, while the Anti-Masonic 
troubles of the period furnished additional subject matter. After 1883 elec- 
tioneering pamphlets seem to have been very seldom issued. 



320 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

convention at South Kingstown in November, for the purpose of elect- 
ing delegates to a national Republican convention in Baltimore to 
nominate a candidate for President. 

A serious riot occurred in Providence in September, 1831, and the 
helplessness of the town authorities in preserving the peace on such an 
occasion probably had considerable influence in determining the gen- 
eral assembly to grant, and the freemen of the town to accept, a city 
form of government. Providence had a large colored population for 
a New England town, and although there were many good citizens 
among them, there was a large floating element which was dissolute 
and disorderly. The riot, which was the outcome of a collision be- 
tween dissolute whites and lawless blacks, is thus described in Staples 's 
Annals of Providence : 

' ' The first outbreak of popular feeling was on the night of Septem- 
ber 21. A number of sailors visited Olney's lane for the purpose of 
having a row with the blacks inhabiting there. After making a great 
noise there and throwing stones, a gun was fired from one of the 
houses. The greater part of the persons in the lane then retreated to 
the west end of it, and five sailors who had not been engaged in any 
of the previous transactions, went up the lane. A black man on the 
steps of his house, presented a gun, and told them to keep their dis- -« 
tance. They in turn proposed taking his gun. This they did not M 
attempt, but pursuing their walk a little further, then stopped. Here 
they were ordered by the black man 'to clear out', or he would fire at 
them. This they dared him to do. He did fire, and one of their num- 
ber was instantly killed. The first company, who were still at the foot 
of the lane, then returned, tore down two houses and broke the win- 
dows of the rest. During the next day there was a great excitement. 
The sheriff of the county with other peace officers were in Olney's lane 
early in the evening. As the mob increased in numbers and in vio- 
lence of language, they were ordered to disperse, and seven taken 
in custody. Subsequently others were arrested, who M'ere rescued 
from the officers. The sheriff then required military aid of the Gover- 
nor of the state, and at midnight the First Light Infantry marched to 
his assistance. The mob, not intimidated by their presence, assaulted 
them with stones. Finding that they could effect nothing without 
firing upon them, the soldiers left the lane, followed by the mob, who 
then returned to their work, and demolished six more houses in the 
lane and one near Smith street, not separating until between three and 
four o'clock in the morning. On the morning of the 23d, an attack on 
the jail being expected, the sheriff required military aid, and the 
Governor issued his orders to the Light Dragoons, the Artillery, the 
Cadets, the Volunteers, and the First Infantry, to be in arms at six 
o'clock in the evening. The mob appeared only in small force, and 
did little mischief. The military Avere dismissed until the next evening. 



From 1830 to the Dorr War. 321 

On the evening of the 24th there was a great collection of persons in 
Smith street and its vicinity. Soon they commenced pulling down 
houses. Upon this, finding it impossible to disperse or stay them, the 
sheriff called again on the Governor, and the military were again assem- 
bled. During theirmarch to Smith street they were assailed with stones. 
They marched up Smith street and took post on the hill. Here both 
the Governor and the sheriff remonstrated with the mob, and endeav- 
ored to induce them to separate, informing them that the muskets of 
the military were loaded with ball cartridges. This being ineffectual, 
the riot act was read, and they were required by a peace officer to 
disperse. The mob continued to throw stones both at the houses and 
soldiers. The sheriff' then attempted to disperse them by marching 
the dragoons and infantry among them, but without success. He then 
ordered the military to fire, and four persons fell mortally wounded, 
in Smith street, just east of Smith's bridge. The mob immediately 
dispersed, and peace was restored."^ 

The net results of the aff'air were the loss of four lives, and the 
destruction, either partial or complete, of seventeen houses. On the 
next Sunday a mass meeting was held in the State House yard, and 
resolutions were adopted, sympathizing with the friends of the killed, 
but approving of the action of the civil authorities. 

On October 25, at a town meeting called for the purpose, the free- 
men voted— 471 to 175 — in favor of a city government, and the gen- 
eral assembly at the October session granted a charter. It provided 
.for a mayor and six aldermen, to be elected on a general ticket, and 
twenty-four common councilmen— four from each of the six wards. 
It was submitted to the freemen of the town on November 27, and was 
accepted by a vote of 459 to 188. The city government began on the 
first ]\Ionday in June, 1832. During the pendency of the charter 
question before the assembly, a petition from certain inhabitants of 
the western suburbs of the town was made, asking that the charter 
should not include that portion west of the junction of Broad, West- 
minster and High streets, and that the remainder should be set off and 
incorporated as the town of Westminster.^ 

The acts for the relief of insolvent debtors were again tinkered in 
January, 1832, by which the acts of 1828 and 1830 were revised, and 
an appeal was granted from the Supreme Judicial Court to the greater 
supremacy of the assembly. Some amendments were made to the 
Boston and Providence railroad act, by the provisions of which the 
state could purchase the road, after twenty years, under certain 
financial conditions, and if the net receipts of the road exceeded 12 

' Staples, Annals of Prov. p. 397-399. There is also an account of the Olney's 
Lane riot in the Prov. Journal for August 23, 1884. 

• This seems to have been a recurrence of a similar petition presented as early 
as Feb. 26, 1770 (see Arnold, History of E. I. ii, 301). 
21-1 



322 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

per cent, the general assembly could require a reduction of the road's 
"tolls". The election law was amended at this session, so as to pro^ 
vide, in ease of no election of Governor and other officers on the state 
ticket, that new elections should be ordered within thirty days, until a 
choice should be effected. This amendment was doubtless made in 
anticipation of the result of the three-cornered campaign which had 
already begun. The hue and cry against Free Masonry, resulting from 
the alleged exposures in the famous Morgan case, was now in full 
volume in this state. A legislative committee, of which Benjamin 
Hazard of Newport, James F. Simmons of Johnston and William 
Sprague, jr., of Warwick, were members, had been appointed in 1831 
to investigate the order in Rhode Island. It had summoned a large 
number of Masons, from Royal Arch and Grand Lodge officers down 
to "entered apprentices", and had required them to make a "clean 
breast" of the workings, the oaths, and the other secrecies of the order 
The information obtained was probably not exhaustive, but it was 
sufficient to fill 222 octavo pages of a printed report, which was sub 
mitted by a majority of the committee to the assembly in 1832. While 
the report exonerated the Masonic organizations of the state from 
most of the grave charges against them, it advised them to discontinue 
their lodge work. William Sprague, jr., who apparently was not in 
harmony with the other members of the committee, and did not attend 
all of its sessions, presented a minority report, in which he censured 
the order, and recommended the revocation of Masonic charters. The 
report of the majority, which was ascribed to Mr. Hazard, the chair- 
man of the committee, received considerable criticism from the Anti 
Masons, and some of the charges of unfairness were repeated in 
private letter— which soon found its way into the public prints— by 
ex-President John Quincy Adams. Mr. Hazard, who was no mean 
antagonist, either with his pen or his voice, resented the imputation 
upon his fairness. He addressed a series of letters to the distin- 
guished ex-President, in Avhich he defended the report, and taunted 
the man for whom he had twice voted in presidential campaigns, with 
being "a friend of his enemies and an enemy to his friends". The 
investigation did not seem to have much effect either for or against 
Masonry. The Grand Lodge issued an address to the public, denying 
the prevalent charges made against the order.^ 

Caucuses and conventions were held early in 1832, and the Anti- 
Masons were now a full-fledged party. William Sprague, jr., of 
Warwick, and Augustus Peckham of Newport, were nominated by 
them for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, respectively. The 
National Republicans had renominated Governor Arnold and Lieuten- |] 
ant-Governor Collins, and the General or Democratic-Republicans j 

1 For a further discussion of this subject, see the chapter on Free Masonry and M 
Odd Fellowship. 



From 1830 to the Dorr War. 323 

again placed Fenner in nomination, with Jeffrey Hazard of Exeter for 
Lieutenant-Governor. There was no election in April, Governor Ar- 
nold lacking 87 votes of a majority in a total poll of 5,594 votes. 
Spragxie and his ticket had an average of nearly 600 votes. Four 
special elections were held afterwards— in May, July, August and 
November, in the vain effort to secure a choice, but none was made on 
either Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or a single one of the ten sen- 
ators. At the trial in August a "split ticket" had been circulated, 
with Lieutenant-Governor Collins 's knowledge, containing his name 
and that of the Democratic-Republican candidate for Governor. His 
name was dropped from the National Eepublican ticket in Novem- 
ber, and that of Joseph Childs of Portsmouth substituted. 

The old officials held their places throughout the year, and the usual 
sessions of the general assembly were held, besides an extra one in 
August to count the votes east at the special election in July. In 
May, 1832, a resolution was passed, requesting the members of Con- 
gress from Rhode Island to oppose the proposed reduction of tariff 
rates, as detrimental to Rhode Island industrial interests. 
The National Republicans endorsed the candidacy of Henry Clay 
for the presidency early in the year 1832. The Clay electors received 
a majority of 684 at the election in November in a total vote of 4,936. 

Senator Robbins's term was to expire on March 4, 1833, and on Jan- 
uary 19, 1833, the two houses met in grand committee and re- 
elected Mr. Robbins— who was supported by the National Republican 
members— by a vote of 41 to 25 for Elisha R. Potter and 12 for Dutee 
J. Pearce. The Democratic-Republican minority— 30 in number— 
made a formal protest against the holding of this election, claiming 
that as the assemblymen were elected in 1831, they were not compe- 
tent to represent the will of the people in such a case in 1833. The 
house refused to receive the protest. 

The Democratic-Republicans combined forces on the state ticket in 
1833, and placed John Brown Francis and Jeft'rey Hazard in nomina- 
tion for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor respectively. The Na- 
tional Republicans renominated Governor Arnold, with Childs for 
Lieutenant-Governor. A singular incident at the convention which 
placed them in nomination was the presence of ex-Senator James De 
AVolf, who a few days later called the Democratic-Republican conven- 
tion to order. Mr. DeWolf was invited to take a seat in the conven- 
tion. He declined, but told the assemblage that he was with them on 
national matters, as the Jackson administration had deserted the 
interests of Rhode Island. The coalition won at the April election, 
electing Francis and Hazard by a majority of about 750 in the largest 
vote that had been cast since 1818. An inspection of the ticket of the 
three parties at Newport, shows that the Anti-Masonic ballot had been 
used by 1,106 voters. 



324 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

From a report regardino: the Narragansett Indians, presented to the 
assembly at the January session in 1833, it appears that the commu- 
nity in the town of Charlestown, living on the tribal lands, then num- 
bered 198 souls, of whom 6 were full-blood Indians ; 14 half-breeds ; 
158 of mixed parentage, but less than half Indian ; and twenty non- 
Indian residents. The six "full-bloods" were all aged females, and 
the 158 were, on an average, as much as three-fourths African. About 
50 members of the tribe were absent, and were not included in the 
enumeration. The moral and physical condition of the tribal rem- 
nant was far from satisfactory. Rum and other forms of vice were 
gradually enervating and exterminating them, they were constantly 
being imposed upon and robbed by designing individuals, and many of 
the tribe were living in a half-starved condition. 

The general assembly at the May session hastened to repeal the act 
by which they had held so many abortive elections during the previous 
year. At the June session a memorial signed by Elisha Mathewson 
and many others, praying that the incorporated Masonic bodies in the 
state be cited to appear before the general assembly and show cause 
why their charters should not be revoked, was accepted by a vote of 
44 to 18, after a warm discussion. Many of the leading members of 
the assembly were Masons, and wiiile they could not defy public opin- 
ion they used every parliamentary device to evade its edicts. The house 
finally voted to continue the memorial to the next session, and required 
the petitioners, at their own expense, to cause public notice of the 
pendency of their memorial to be published in all of the newspapers of 
the state. A petition from certain citizens of the villages of Central 
Falls and Valley Falls to be set off from the town of Smithfield and 
annexed to the town of North Providence, was also continued. The 
progress of humanitarian ideas was shown by the passage of an act at 
the same session to seclude executions of criminals for capital crimes 
from public gaze. 

Politics Avere a good deal mixed at the congressional election in 
August, 1833. Purges was re-elected at the first trial, and Mr. Pearce 
was finally re-elected, as the Democratic-Republican candidate, at a 
special election in November over Nathan F. Dixon, the candidate of 
the National Republicans. Other candidates who were voted for in 
August were Wilkins Updike and Nathan B. Sprague, Democratic- 
Republicans, and Albert C. Greene, Henry Y. Cranston and Nathan 
F. Dixon, National Republicans. William Sprague, jr., was nomi- 
nated for congress by the Anti-Masonic party, but declined. 

The Democratic-Republicans secured a majority in the house of 
representatives at the semi-annual election in August, and at the 
October session the action of the hold-over assembly on the January I 
previous in re-electing Asher Robbins to the United States senate, was 
declared null and void. The two houses met in grand committee onJ 



From 1830 to the Dorr War. 325 

November 1, and elected Elisha R. Potter to the seat they had thus 
declared vacant. The National Republicans refrained from voting, 
and Henry Y. Cranston of Newport, one of their number, offered a 
protest against the proceedings, but the grand committee, by a vote of 
48 to 29, refused to receive the protest. Mr. Potter then went to 
Washington and contested INIr. Robbins's right to the seat, but the 
senate finally decided that the latter was legally elected. 

President Jackson visited Newport and Providence in June, and was 
received at both places with the honor due to the Chief Magistrate of 
the nation. All eminent visitors M'ere now entertained in Providence 
at the City Hotel. Among those who called upon President Jackson 
was the venerable Moses Brown, then in his ninety-fifth year. The 
aged man, who "thee'd" and "thou'd" Old Hickory after the Quaker 
manner, told him that as he had known all the previous Presidents he 
thought that he would call upon him, and he invited him to visit 
the Friends School during his local itinerary. Jackson accepted the 
invitation, and complimented the aged philanthropist upon his retain- 
ing his physical and mental faculties to so great an age. Henry Clay, 
who was at this time almost idolized by the National Republicans of 
Rhode Island, visited Providence in October of this year, and received 
great attention. 

At the January session of the general assembly in 1834 an act was 
passed making all property devoted to religious or educational pur- 
poses taxable, unless such property was held under charters granted 
by the assembly, and religious bodies were forbidden to hold real 
estate exceeding $10,000 in value, in excess of the value of their several 
churches and the lots upon which the churches stood. The license law 
was amended by giving the Providence board of aldermen and town 
councils authority to prevent the sale of rum, wine and strong liquors 
on Sunday and on such other times as they should deem proper. 

The Anti-Masonic memorials headed by Elisha ]\Iathewson were 
discussed in the house with the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and 
senate present by invitation, and after a motion to dismiss them, made 
by ]\Ir. Atwell of Glocester, had been rejected by a vote of 13 to 44, an 
act was finally passed revoking the charters of the six chartered bodies 
in the state, and requiring them to render annual reports, under 
penalty of a fine of $100 if the requirement was neglected.^ Other 
important acts passed at this session were a mechanics' lien law, and 
a provision for the assessment of the machinery of cotton and woolen 
companies as personal property, including the machinery owned by 
non-residents. 

At a special session in May, the election law was again changed, so 
that, when there was no choice for Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, 

'Sixteen other charters of Masonic bodies were not molested. 



326 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

and for a majority of the members of the senate, the speaker of the 
house should issue a warrant for a new election. 

There was a good deal of complaint of hard times during this year, 
a fact that was ascribed by the National Republicans to President 
Jackson's war upon the United States bank. The Providence Journal, 
in April, 1834, published a list of thirty cotton mills, containing 70,000 
spindles, in and near Providence, which were closed because of the 
hard times. 

The question of a new constitution and the extension of the suffrage 
again came to the front in 1834. Agreeable to an invitation from the 
towns of Smithfield and Cumberland, delegates from Newport, Provi- 
dence, Smithfield, Bristol, Warren, Cranston, Johnston, North Provi- 
dence, Burrillville, and Cumberland, assembled in convention in Prov- 
idence on February 22, to consult together upon the best course to be 
pursued for the establishment of a written state constitution which 
should properly define and fix the powers of the different departments 
of government and the rights of the citizen. Another convention, at 
which delegates were also present from Scituate and North Kingstown, 
was held on March 12. A constitutional party was formed, and an 
address to the people of Rhode Island was issued.^ This address and 
also a memorial from the mayor and city council of Providence, de- 
claring the city to have one-sixth of the inhabitants, one-seventh of the 
voters, and one-fourth of the wealth of the state, while it had only one- 
eighteenth of the representation in the house of representatives, was 
presented to the general assembly at the January session. A commit- 
tee was appointed to consider the subject, and at the June session, 
Benjamin Hazard of Newport, presented a motion in the house to call 
a convention to annul the charter. Thomas W. Dorr, a new member 
from Providence, moved as a substitute the calling of a convention to 
form a constitution. His motion was carried in an amended form. 
The convention met in September, adjourned several times, the last 
time to meet in Providence, on June 29, 1835, but the members, for 
some reason, failed to meet at the latter date. The delegates to this 
convention were generally opposed to an extension of the suffrage, and 
a proposition to that effect received but seven votes. 

The National Republicans called a convention of ''Independents" 
in January, 1834. It was presided over by Senator De Wolf, who had 
now definitely separated from his former political associates, and it 

' This address was drawn up by a committee consisting of Thomas W. Dorr, 
Joseph K. Angell, David Daniels, William H. Smith and Christopher Robinson, 
and appointed by the convention. Chiefly the product of Dorr's pen, this ad- 
dress was a clear exposition of the defects in the existing system of govern- 
ment and of the changes essential for a proper correction of these defects. For 
the details of its authorship, see E. R. Potter, Co imderations on the adoption of a 
constitution, p. 27. 



From 1830 to the Dorr War. 327 

placed in nomination, on a "Liberty and Union Prox", ex-Governor 
Nehemiah R. Knight and George Cross of Charlestown for Governor 
and Lieutenant-Governor. The Constitutionalists held a convention 
and endorsed these nominations. Mr. Cross declined the nomination, 
and the National Republicans substituted the name of George Irish of 
Middletown in the place of Cross, while the Constitution people sup- 
ported Cross, who received 442 votes. The Democratic-Republicans 
and Anti-Masons renominated Francis and Hazard, and they were 
elected by small majorities. 

Resolutions in favor of the United States bank passed the house in 
October by a vote of 41 to 24. At this session, William Sprague, jr., 
who had been speaker since 1832, was opposed by ex-Senator De Wolf, 
now a representative from Bristol, but was re-elected by a vote of 36 to 
31 for his opponent. 

At the January session of the assembly in 1835, an act was passed 
requiring ]\Iasonic lodges to make annual returns to the general assem- 
bly regarding membership, and to divulge the forms of initiation and 
of the oaths administered to candidates. A resolution to restrict 
meetings of the general assembly to Newport and Providence was laid 
on the table by a vote of 41 to 13. The two houses met in grand com- 
mittee on January 21, to elect a successor to Senator Knig:ht, whose 
term would expire on the 4th of March, 1835, and on that day and the 
next took twenty ballots without effecting a choice. On the first ballot 
Albert C. Greene of Providence, the attorney-general of the state, re- 
ceived 39 votes, and on the last ballot 40. Elisha R. Potter was given 
30 on the first and 29 on the last ballot, and William Sprague, jr., 11 
and 12 votes, respectively, on the first and last ballots. Senator 
Knight and Tristam Burges also received single votes in the course of 
the balloting. As no choice could be effected, further balloting was 
postponed until the May session. 

The gubernatorial contest of 1835 was, like that of the previous 
year, a close one. The Democratic and Anti-Masonic parties renomi- 
nated Francis and Hazard, while the National Republicans, who had 
finally settled upon the name of "Whig", again put Knig:ht at the 
head of their ticket, and nominated George Engs of NcAvport for 
Lieutenant-Governor. The vote was very close and there were many 
questions regarding' fraudulent votes to be decided by the grand 
committee on "Election Day" at Newport, before the new administra- 
tion could be inaugurated. AVhen the grand committee, which was 
always composed of the old senate and the new house, met on that day, 
Governor Francis appointed five of each party as the canvassing com- 
mittee. The situation was an alarming one. Protestations regarding 
alleged illegal votes had been received from several of the towns, and 
were referred to the canvassing committee. The cases were many of 
them difficult to decide. The committee divided on party lines, and 



328 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

was at a deadlock. Representative Allen presented a motion that 
the committee count the votes as returned, and Representative Bray- 
ton offered as an amendment to his motion that Speaker Sprague be 
added to the committee to break the tie. As this would have given the 
advantage to their opponents, the Whigs objected to such an arrange- 
ment, and Benjamin Hazard rose to his feet and solemnly warned the 
senators, who were Democrats, against voting on any motion. He as- 
sured them he had examined the question, and was sure that they had no 
right to vote, and he solemnly declared that if they attempted to do so, 
he would address the speaker, and move that the house retire to its 
OAvn chamber. He would regret to see the charter government of the 
state destroyed by any unlawful attempts on their part, but he would 
do his duty. Mr. Brayton withdrew his amendment, and Mr. Allen's 
motion was accepted by the grand committee. The troublesome pro- 
tests regarding fraudulent votes were ignored, and the ballots were 
counted as they had been returned by the election officers. Governor 
Francis and the two Democratic senators and four Whig senators had 
been elected, while Engs, Whig, had defeated Hazard for Lieutenant- 
Governor. The house was composed of 37 Whigs and 35 Democrats, 
and the former elected Henry Y. Cranston, of Newport, speaker over 
Sprague by a vote of 35 to 34. In August, however, Mr. Sprague was 
elected to Congress by 148 majority over Tristam Burges, while Dutee 
J. Pearce was chosen by 242 majority over Speaker Cranston. 

On May 13, 1835, the general assembly in grand committee re- 
elected Nehemiah R. Knight to the United States senate. The vote 
was 41 for Knight and 38 for Elisha R. Potter. Congressman Burges 
desired the position, and was much disappointed at being set aside for 
a recent convert to Whig principles. That Mr. Potter was also dis- 
appointed will readily be understood. This ended his long and event- 
ful political career. He died in the following September.^ 

The Boston and Providence railroad, the first steam railroad to 
begin operations in Rhode Island, commenced running in June of this 
year. The guest-train from Providence to Boston on the opening day^ 
was, however, drawn by horses as far as Canton, owing to the non- 
arrival of the new locomotive which was to run between the two cities. 
On its arrival a few days later two trains a day began running between 
the two chief cities of New England. The fact that a train covered the 
distance in two hours, twenty-five minutes, making five stops, was con- 
sidered very fast time. A local census of Providence in 1835 disclosed 

' Mr. Potter was born in 1754, and began life as a blacksmith's apprentice. 
He then became a soldier, and finally a lawyer. He was elected from his 
town to the general assembly in 1793, and from that date until his death, with 
the exception of seven years in Congress, was annually re-elected. It was said 
of him ' ' few political men in Rhode Island ever acquired or maintained a more 
commanding influence." 

2 June 2, 1835. 



From 1830 to the Dorr War. 329 

a population of 19.277, of -which 9,527 were on the east and 9,750 on the 
west side of the river. The cohered popuhition nnmbered 1,223. Great 
anti-slavery meetings were held in several places in the state during: 
this year. The first pnblic meeting in opposition to the institution of 
slavery had been held in Providence, on July 4, 1833. 

The Anti-Masonic movement was already beginning to wane, and 
St. John's lodge of Masons of Providence, which had stoutly refused 
to surrender its charter, celebrated St. John's day by a parade through 
the streets. It was the first public INIasonic function since 1831, and 
the "Kepublican Herald", M^hicli liacl been somewhat Anti-Masonic 
from political motives, solemnly warned the Masons of the folly 
of their action. 

In January, 1836, the statute law regulating the admission of free- 
men was amended and simplified. Votes on real estate in reversion 
or wives' dowers were declared null and void. Over eight hundred 
names were signed to a call for an anti-slavery convention, to be held 
early in April, and numerous memorials against slavery were pre- 
sented in the house at the January session. Their reception caused 
some heated discussions. An act, restricting the power of banks, 
introduced by Thomas W. Dorr, passed both houses. 

To Tristam Surges, who was defeated for re-election to Congress the 
year before, was assigned the honor of bearing the AVhig gubernatorial 
banner in April, 1836. John H. Cross of Westerly received the nomi- 
nation for Lieutenant-Governor. Francis and Hazard were renomi- 
nated, and ex-Lieutenant-Governor Collins and Daniel Remington of 
Warwick, were placed in nomination by the Constitution party. The 
total vote was 7,151, of which number Francis received 4,020 ; Surges, 
2,984 ; and Collins, 135. Van Suren, the Democratic candidate for 
President, carried the state in November by a vote of 2,964 to 2,710 for 
Harrison, the Whig candidate. The preference of Rhode Island 
Whigs had been divided between Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, but 
they supported Harrison loyally, if not enthusiastically, upon his 
receiving the nomination. Providence gave Harrison 703 and Van 
Buren 279 votes. 

Much was said regarding the mineral possibilities of the state this 
year, and so confident were many people, some of whom were mining 
experts, of the presence of rich veins of coal within the Providence 
city limits that the city appropriated $2,000 for experimental puposes. 
Borings were made in the northern section of the city, but although 
the presence of coal was clearly established, the vein was too thin to 
admit of remunerative mining. 

The Whigs made no contest against the coalition combination in 
1837, and Francis and his associates upon the Democratic-Republican 
and Anti-Masonic tickets had no opposition, except from the Constitu- 
tion party, which nominated William Peckham of South Kingstown 



330 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

for Governor. Lieutenant-Governor Hazard declining to be a candi- 
date again, Benjamin B. Thurston was nominated for the second place 
on the ticket. Peckham received 946 votes. Providence gave him 345 
votes and Francis only 231. Any candidate was more acceptable to 
the freemen of that city than one of the Democratic stripe. 

In August the Whigs rallied and elected their candidates for Con- 
gress, Joseph L. Tillinghast of Providence, and Robert B. Cranston of 
Newport, by about one thousand plurality over Dutee J. Pearce and 
Jesse Howard of Cranston, the Democratic candidates. William 
Sprague, Mr. Pearce 's colleague, had declined a re-election, and, just 
before the close of the campaign, wrote a letter to ex-Senator De Wolf, 
in which he announced his withdrawal from the Democratic-Republic- 
an party, because, as he believed, its national policy was antagonistic 
to Rhode Island interests. 

In January, 1837, a law was passed to increase the license fee of 
liquor sellers. The fee for hotel keepers and retailers was placed at 
from $5 to $25, and for those selling by the quart or gallon at from $5 
to $20. The state was to receive $2 on each license. The law was 
unsatisfactory and was repealed at the October session following. A 
resolution introduced in the house by Thomas W. Dorr, to call a con- 
stitutional convention, was rejected by a vote of 17 to 39. 
Another resolution of Mr. Dorr's, instructing Rhode Island, 
members of Congress to favor the abolition of the slave trade, and of 
slavery in the District of Columbia, was rejected — 7 to 47. A resolu- 
tion, offered by Jonah Titus, instructing Senators Robbins and Knight 
to vote to expunge the resolutions censuring President Jackson for his 
action regarding the surplus revenue, which had been passed by the] 
senate in March, 1834, led to a heated political debate, but it was 
finally adopted by the house by a vote of 32 to 28. A 
resolution opposing the annexation of Texas was also passed by the 
house. A bill allowing banks to issue post notes was passed by thir- 
teen majority, and an act was passed restricting bank loans to certain 
percentages of capital and deposits. 

In 1838 legislation in revision of the criminal code led to lengthy 
discussion in the house before the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and 
the senators, who were present by invitation. The death penalty for 
wilful murder, arson and treason, were retained by narrow majorities, 
but in many cases former penalties were modified. A bill was passed 
forbidding the bringing of slaves into the state, and providing for 
their emancipation if the law was violated. An act protecting banks 
during the temporary suspension of specie payments was passed. A 
new license law, forbidding sales to habitual drunkards or on Sun- 
day, and providing for local option, was enacted. Under this law, in 
August, Providence declared against license by a vote of. 411 to 333. 
This experiment in prohibition was unpopular among business men. 



From 1830 to the Dorr AVar. 331 

Petitions for the repeal of the act were presented at the October 
session of the assembly and a repeal bill was introduced at the session 
in October. Its advocates contended that the prohibition of the liquor 
traffic was ruining the business of Providence, as many outsiders who 
were wont to trade there were then going elsewhere. The house, how- 
ever, refused to repeal the act by six majority. 

At the January session an amendment to the election law, allowing 
certificate voters to ballot for members of the general assembly, passed 
the house by a vote of 28 to 23, but was rejected by the senate. The 
proposition was accepted, however, at the June session, by both houses. 

Encouraged by their success in the congressional election in the 
previous August, the Whigs held a state convention in Januaiy, 1838, 
and nominated William Sprague^ and Joseph Childs for Governor and 
Lieutenant-Governor. The Democrats renominated Francis and 
Thurston. Sprague was elected by 381 majority in a total vote of 
7,587. In August, certain Providence Whigs favorable to the claims 
of Tristam Purges as a candidate for United States senator, made 
nominations for representatives in opposition to the regular Whig 
ticket, but they were unable to defeat the latter. On November 3, 
Nathan F. Dixon of Westerly was elected United States senator by 
a vote of 51 to 26 for Penjamin P. Thurston. 

Sprague and Childs were opposed in 1839 by Nathaniel Pullock, of 
Bristol, and Thurston, the Democratic candidates, and by Tristam 
Purges, who was brought forward by certain dissatisfied Whigs. 
Purges 's candidacy prevented an election, although he received but 
457 votes. Mr. Sprague lacked 179 of a majority, and, as Lieutenant- 
Governor Childs also failed of an election the state again found itself 
without an executive head. Seven of the ten senators had been chosen 
and, as no further elections could be held under the latest change in 
the election law, Samuel W. King, the first senator, acted as Governor 
during the year. There was a difference of opinion, however, as to the 
authority of the general assembly in the matter, and heated discussions 
took place regarding the right of the general assembly in grand com- 
mittee to fill the vacancies. A new license law was passed this year. 
Among its features were the prohibition of Sunday sales, and of sales 
to habitual drunkards. An act was also passed authorizing school 
committees to assess parents of pupils to sustain public schools in 
towns which failed to make adequate provisions for the purpose. 
From the first annual report concerning the public schools, issued 
this year by the secretary of state, it is learned that Providence, New- 

^ Anti-Masonry was now a dying issue, but the acceptance of this nomination 
by their leading champion called for some explanation, and, according to the 
political gossip of the day in Democratic circles, Mr. Sprague excused himself 
for his previous affiliation upon the ground that his father (recently deceased) 
had compelled him to antagonize the Masons. 



332 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

port and Bristol had been provided for some time with convenient 
public school houses, and that eight other towns had taken measures 
to erect school buildings. 

As, according to the election law then prevailing, the loss of one of 
the six senators, from death or other cause, would have left the state 
without a government, the assembly at the June session passed an act, 
empowering the speaker of the house, in case of such vacancy, to issue 
a warrant for a new election, which should be decided by a plurality 
vote. As a large number of freemen of Providence had petitioned for 
a repeal of the city charter, an act was passed submitting the question 
of repeal to the freemen of the- city, but requiring a three-fifths vote to 
secure the change. The special election under this act was held on the 
last Wednesday of March, when the repeal party was decisively de- 
feated, they polling only 221 votes to 628 against repeal. At the same 
election the freemen decided by a vote of more than two to one in favor 
of establishing a high school. 

In August, Messrs. Cranston and Tillinghast Avere re-elected to 
Congress by about 400 plurality over Benjamin B. Thurston and 
Thomas W. Dorr, the Democratic candidates. Mr. Dorr, who, up to 
within a year or two, had been quite prominent in the Whig party, 
was now opposed to it, as he found the Democratic policy in state poli- 
tics more favorable to the sufl'rage movement. Petitions published in 
New York papers, asking the national government to establish a repub- 
lican form of government in Rhode Island, caused considerable indig- 
nation among the Whigs, and a state convention was held in South 
Kingstown in November, to protest against outside interference in 
Rhode Island affairs. 

Samuel Ward King, who, as the first senator, had performed the 
duties of Governor throughout 1839, was nominated for that office by 
the Whigs in 1840, and Byron Diman of Bristol received the nomina- 
tion for Lieutenant-Governor. The Democrats placed the name of 
ex-Governor Francis at the head of their ticket, with that of Nathaniel 
Bullock of Bristol for the second place. Francis declined the nomina- 
tion, and Thomas F. Carpenter, a Providence lawyer, was nominated 
in his place. The Whigs taunted the Democrats with the fact that 
over half of the nominees on their prox, including the two chief ones, 
were of Federal antecedents, and some of them even defenders of the 
Hartford convention. The vote was the largest that had been polled 
since 1818, and King was elected by a majority of 1,311. His vote— 
4,797— was the largest that had ever been given a candidate in the 
history of the state, and the 3,418 which Carpenter received would 
ordinarily have been a large one for even the winning party. This 
was really the last contested election under the charter, as the Demo- 
crats made no nominations the next year, and made little effort to elect 
their ticket in 1842, as a large proportion of them did not acknowledge 



From 1830 to the Dorr War. 333 

the validity of the charter government after the adoption of the Peo- 
ple's constitution. 

Several important acts were passed at the January session in 1840. 
Among them were a new militia law ; an act condemnatory of lotteries ; 
one providing for free vaccination, at the option of the town councils, 
every fifth year ; an act allowing school committees to set apart $10 
every year for the establishment of school libraries ; and a law forbid- 
ding the employment in factories of children under the age of twelve 
years, unless they could show proof of having attended school at least 
three months during the preceding twelve months. The resolution 
regarding lotteries recited their evil effects and declared that no more 
ought to be granted, and that the sale of lottery tickets for enterprises 
outside of the state should be prohibited. An act was passed requiring 
October sessions of the general assembly, not then held by law at South 
Kingstown, to be held alternately at Bristol and East Greenwich, and 
that the adjournments from the October sessions should be held in 
Providence. A proposition to build an addition to the State House at 
Providence encountered the determined opposition of many of the 
country members, who feared that it would take $20,000 to satisfy the 
''fine notions" of the people of Providence. 

The general assembly met in grand committee on October 29, 1840, 
and elected James F. Simmons of Johnston, United States senator in 
place of Nehemiah R. Knight, whose term would expire on March 4, 
1841, and who had been in the senate since March 4, 1820. Mr. Sim- 
mons had been a representative from his town for several years, and 
was one of the leading Whigs of the state. He received 53 votes to 24 
for Samuel Y. Atwell of Glocester, the Democratic candidate, and 2 
for Tristam Surges. 

Rhode Island had given its electoral votes for Van Buren in 1836, 
but this year, with the same candidates confronting each other, the 
defeat of the Democratic ticket was a foregone conclusion. The Dem- 
ocratic attitude on the tariff question was making the state solid for 
the Whigs, and the strength of the latter was increased by the log 
cabin and hard cider appendages to the Whig campaign, which, much 
to the Democratic disgust and dismay, were prominent features of the 
contest in the state. The vote was : Harrison, 5,278 ; Van Buren, 
3,301. The Whig state and congressional tickets were elected without 
opposition in April, 1841. The time for the congressional election had 
been changed at the previous January session from August to April. 

Resolutions in favor of the sale of the public lands, and the division 
of the proceeds among the states ; in favor of the i-e-establishment of 
the United States bank ; and in opposition to the sub-treasury scheme, 
passed the assembly at the January session in 1841. The vote in the 
house on the first proposition was unanimous, on the second 39 to 23, 
and on the third 40 to 20. The debates over these measures, between 



334 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

ex-Senator Robbins— now a representative from Newport— and Sen- 
ator-elect Simmons, on the one side, and Samuel Y. Atwell, an able 
Democratic lawyer from Glocester, attracted considerable attention. 
A warm debate also took place at this session over a proposed act to 
exempt debtors for sums of less than $20 from imprisonment from 
debt. It was finally rejected by the house. The assembly altered the 
license law again this year. The license fees, one-fifth of the proceeds 
of which was to go to the state, were increased. Sales were forbidden 
on Sunday, to intoxicated persons, habitual drunkards or minors, and 
no debts incurred for quantities of liquor less than one quart were to 
be recoverable by law. 

An act was passed at the June session for the ''relief of married 
women in certain cases". It provided that a married woman, not 
living with her husband, coming into the state and residing here for two 
years, could transact business the same as a single woman, without in- 
terference from her husband ; that he could not take her children from 
her, unless she was proved to be immoral or otherwise unfit to have 
their management ; and that if the husband and Avife should become 
reconciled, and live together, his control of her property and financial 
affairs should date only from his renewal of his marital rights. An 
attempt was made to repeal certain portions of the law at the October 
session, and it was charged in the course of the discussion which en- 
sued that the degree of emancipation accorded unfortunate wives by 
the legislation was enacted for the express benefit of one Madame 
Hautreville, whose father's money had been an influential factor in 
securing the legislation. This insinuation against the integrity of the 
promoters of the act was indignantly denied, and was afterwards with- 
drawn. The repeal bill failed of passage, the vote standing 24 to 41. 

Benjamin Hazard of Newport, who had been a conspicuous factor in 
Rhode Island legislation for many years, died on March 10, 1841. He 
was a graduate of Brown University, was first elected to the house in 
August, 1809, and was re-elected successively sixty-one times. The 
August previous to his death he addressed a letter to his fellow towns- 
men declining again to be a candidate on account of ill-health. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE DORR WAR AND ITS RESULTS. 

The question of a new constitution, or rather the formation of a 
written constitution to take the place of the charter granted by King 
Charles II, in 1663, had been agitated now for about fifty years, and 
matters were fast approaching a crisis. The advocates of the reform, 
though actuated by various motives, were chiefly confined to 
three classes — the non-freeholders, those who believed that the 
freehold qualification for votes was in a measure rendered nugatory 
by fraudulent practices ; and the people of Providence and other fast- 
growing towns which were inadequately represented in the general 
assembly under the charter,^ and for which there was no redress. The 
suffrage was limited by the terms of the charter to citizens otherwise 
qualified who were owners of a certain amount of real estate, and to 
the oldest sons of such freeholders. The minimum value of the real 
estate required to constitute the owner a freeholder had varied, at 
different times, but since 1798 it had been $134. In the old farming 
towns under the freehold system, the number of freeholders was prac- 
tically stationary, but in Providence and the large villages it had 
become the practice to divide small tracts of land into house lots, so- 
called, and these lots were conveyed to individuals who would vote as 
the grantor desired ; the grantor retaining the grantee's note for a sum 
above the actual worth of the land for his security, and which could be 
used as a voucher to prove to the assessors of taxes that the lot was of a 
value sufficient to constitute the alleged owner a freeholder. The 
extent to which this system of fraud was carried in 1840 so irritated 

^ By the provisions of the charter Newport, then the largest of the four towns, 
was to have six deputies (representatives) ; Providence, Portsmouth and War- 
wick, four each ; while each new town was to have two. The relative import- 
ance of the towns had greatly changed since the seventeenth century, and the 
injustice of the charter representative provisions was becoming more and more 
apparent with the increased growth of the factory towns, and of Providence, 
the great centre of the cotton manufacturing interest. Providence had 23,173 
inhabitants in 1840, and Smithfield, which had increased its population by more 
than 40 per cent, since 1830, had 9,534, while Newport, which had three times 
her representation, had only 8.333, and Portsmouth, with four members to 
Smithfield's two, had only 1,706 souls, and was actually retrograding in popula- 
tion. Other fast- growing towns were Cumberland, with 5,225 inhabitants, War- 
wick, with 6,726, North Providence, with 4,207, and Bristol, with 3,490. 



336 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the freeholders, or a large portion of them, that they preferred giving 
up their freehold privileges directly by an enlargement of the suffrage, 
rather than to be defrauded in this manner. 

The genuine landholding electors were generally substantial, well-to- 
do people, and their leaders, the men who became governors, senators 
and members of assembly, belonged chiefly to old and wealthy families, 
and ' ' lived in roomy, substantial colonial houses, where they dispensed 
a liberal hospitality in the midst of the memorials of an ancestry of 
which they were as proud as any feudal nobles". These leaders gen- 
erally opposed the enlargement of the suffrage as an innovation which 
would place the substantial, conservative citizens and their property 
at the mercy of an "irresponsible rabble". They had therefore, as a 
class, constantly opposed all movements in the direction of an enlarge- 
ment of the suffrage. 

But the growth of the state incident to the great growth of its man- 
ufacturing industries had largely increased the number of non-free- 
holders who would have been qualified to vote in almost any other state 
in the Union. Besides the factory class, there were large numbers of 
mechanics, tradesmen and their employees, people engaged in transpor- 
tation, and laborers generally. And besides all these classes, there 
were the younger sons of the f reeholdere themselves. These men were 
disfranchised by the accident of birth, and many of them joined in the 
growing suffrage movement. 

In the fall of 1840, the subject of a written constitution, securing an 
extension of the suffrage, and a more equal representation, with other 
reforms, was again agitated in the state, and an organization, called 
the Rhode Island SuftVage Association was established in Providence. 
Similar associations were formed in other towns, and frequent meet- 
ings were held in the cause. The declaration of principles by the 
association was based upon the assertion that all men were created free 
and equal, and that the possession of property should create no politi- 
cal advantage. It maintained the right of the people to meet by 
delegates and form a constitution, without regard to the absence of any 
such authority for such proceedings in the terms of the charter. This 
theory of the suffrage party was forcibly expressed in the famous 
question of a suffrage orator, "If the sovereignty don't reside in the 
people, where the does it reside?"^ 

In November, 1840, a paper, devoted to the suffrage cause, was 
established in Providence. It was called the "New Age", and was 
non-partisan in politics. The Providence Herald, the leading Demo- 
cratic paper in the state, which had opposed suffrage extension twelve 

^The Suffragists did not recognize the fact that sovereignty resides in 
the people, not as individuals or as a group of individuals, but only as a body 
politic. As Cooley says in his Constitutional Limitations: "As a practical fact, 
the sovereignty is vested in those persons who are permitted by the Constitution 
of the State to exercise the elective franchise." 



The Dorr \Var and Its Kesults. 337 

years before, now joined in the movement ; while the Providence 
Journal, which had advocated the canse most ably nearly a score of 
yeai*s before, was now for some time non-committal, and admitted 
communications upon both sides of the question. When the crisis 
arrived, however, it was a potential and an uncompromising champion 
of the charter government. 

At the January session in 1841, a memorial was received from the 
large and populous town of Smithfield, praying the general assembly 
to take the subject of the extreme inequality of the existing representa- 
tion from the several towns under consideration, and "in such manner 
as seems most practicable and just to correct the evil complained of". 
At the same session, printed petitions, bearing the names of Elisha 
Dillingham and about 580 others, were presented, praying for the 
abrogation of the charter and the establishment of a constitution, and 
asking especially for an extension of suffrage to a greater portion of 
the white male citizens of the state. This latter petition was laid on 
the table, but the Smithfield memorial was referred to a select com- 
mittee of the house, of which ex-Senator Robbins was chairman. The 
committee reported in favor of adopting measures for calling a consti- 
tutional convention, and, after considerable discussion, resolutions 
were adopted asking the freemen at the August town or ward meetings 
to elect delegates, equal in number to the representation of the several 
municipalities in the general assembly, to attend a convention to be 
holden at Providence on the first Monday of November, 1841, to frame 
a new constitution, either in whole or in part, and if in part, to take 
into "especial consideration the expediency of equalizing the represen- 
tation of the towns in the house of representatives". The resolution 
passed by a vote of 37 to 16, and it is a significant fact that the Provi- 
dence AVhig delegation voted solidly against it. 

This convention, like all previous ones, was to be elected by the 
"freemen", or qualified electors only, and was regarded by the 
suffragists as a mere expedient to deceive the advocates of the reform 
without yielding them any advantages. Determined, therefore, to 
take independent action, the suffragists called a mass meeting of the 
friends of extended suffrage to meet in Providence, April 17, 1841. 
The day was ushered in by the ringing of church bells. A great pro- 
cession, headed by butchers in white frocks, marched with bands and 
banners to Federal Hill and participated in a barbecue, the main 
features of which were a roasted ox, calf and hog, a loaf of bread ten 
feet long and two feet wide, and several barrels of beer. The proces- 
sion, which Avas declared to have numbered over three thousand male 
adults, after the feasting repaired to the State House, and listened to 
suft'rage speeches. Large parades were infrequent sixty years ago, 
and this one attracted a great deal of attention. Among the mottoes 
borne by the marchers were "Worth makes the man, but sand and 
22-1 



338 State of Ehode Island and Providence Plantations. 

gravel make the voter!" and "Virtue, patriotism and intelligence, 
versus $134 worth of dirt!" Speeches were made at the State House 
by ex-Congressman Dutee J. Pearce, Samuel Y. Atwell and General 
Martin Stoddard. On May 5 another great suffrage meeting was held 
in Newport. 

The meeting at Newport in May had adjourned to meet at Provi- 
dence on July 5, which was to be observed as Independence Day, the 
4th being Sunday. This meeting was attended by young men from 
every town in the state, and was one of the largest assemblages of 
people that had ever been held in Rhode Island up to that time. A 
long procession, in which were two of the independent military organi- 
zations of the state, escorted the speakers to the Dexter Training 
Ground, upon which the meeting was organized. INIany freeholders 
were present and participated, although a majority of the existing 
voters did not countenance it. Resolutions were adopted ordering the 
calling of a convention to frame a constitution, and the unanimous vote 
of the meeting pledged its members to sustain and carry into effect 
such a constitution, if adopted, "by all necessary means." On July 
24, 1841, the state committee issued a call for the election of delegates 
to a convention to meet in Providence, October 4. Every male Amer- 
ican citizen, twenty-one years old, who had resided one year in the 
state, was entitled to vote, and the delegates were apportioned strictly 
on the basis of population. On August 28 delegates were elected 
under this call from nearly every town in the state. Three days later, 
at the regular town meetings, delegates were elected to the convention 
called by the general assembly, and which was termed the "Land- 
holders' Convention," to distinguish it from that called by the 
suffrage party. 

The People 's convention convened at the State House in Providence, 
on October 4, and lasted from Monday till Saturday. The ruling 
spirit in the convention was Thomas W. Dorr, who had begun his 
public efforts in behalf of the suffrage cause in the general assembly in 
1884, and who, as a member of the convention called that year, had 
unavailingly attempted to secure an expression from it favorable to 
the reform. Under Mr. Dorr's leadership a constitution was adopted 
which granted many of the reforms advocated by the suft'ragists, but 
which, owing to the varied interests and opinions of the delegates from 
the several towns, did not come up to the standard of excellence con- 
tended for by the most radical participators in the movement. Many 
of the features of the charter were retained, while an effort was made 
to bring them into harmony with modern ideas. A strong effort was - 
made to include negroes among those entitled to the suffrage, but, 
although it received the support of Mr. Dorr, it failed of success. 

The Landholdere' convention met at the State House on November 
1, and although many of its delegates had become convinced that some J 

If 






The Dorr AVar and Its Results. 339 

concession to the demands of the people had become necessary, the 
majority were determined to cling fast to the old order. A constitu- 
tion was drafted which retained the freehold qualification, and whose 
only substantial improvement was an equalization of the representa- 
tion. After framing the constitution the convention adjourned until 
February to get the sense of the people regarding their work. Mr. 
Dorr and Mr. Atwell were elected delegates to both the People's and 
Landholders' conventions. Mr. Atwell, while professing to believe in 
the legality of the people's movement, did not participate in their 
convention, but attended and took a prominent part in the one called 
by the assembly. ]\Ir. Dorr, on the other hand attended both conven- 
tions. He made several abortive attempts in that of the landholders 
to secure an endorsement of the action of the popular convention, and 
failing in that, to persuade the convention to accept the reforms for 
which the suffragists were contending. Ex-Congressman Dutee J. 
Pearce was a leading member of. the People's convention, and, after 
Dorr, was held in the greatest detestation by the charter party. 

The People's convention met by adjournment on November 18, 1841, 
and directed its constitution to be submitted to the votes of the people 
enfranchised under it, on December 27, 28 and 29. On these days, 
accordingly, the vote was taken. Each voter was requirect to state in 
writing on his ballot whether he was or was not a qualified voter under 
the existing laws. By this method the exact standing of every voter 
was ascertained, a fact that was clearly shown in the investigations 
that were subsequently held by both state and national governments. 
On January 12, 1842, the People's convention met again, counted the 
votes, and announced that 13,944 had been cast for the constitution 
and only 52 against it. An analysis of the vote showed that 4,960 of 
the total had been cast by freemen, and 8,984 by non-freemen. The 
committee which drew up the returns claimed that the total number of 
people in the state qualified to vote by an enlarged suffrage was 23,142, 
of which 13,944 was a large majority. The exact number of freemen 
in the state was not known, but it was generally believed that the 4,960 
constituted an actual majority of the legal voters of the state. Thus 
it was claimed by the suffrage advocates that the People's constitution 
represented the wishes of both the restricted and enlarged electorates. 
The entire movement was of course in contravention of the provisions 
of the charter, and utterly without legal sanction. This fact, it is 
true, was admitted by the participants in it, but they contended that 
the people by whose authority or with whose consent— either expressed 
or tacit— all governments existed, always possessed the right to change 
their form of government at will. 

The Governor and the general assembly, constituting the lawful 
authorities, utterly ignored the movement. Their action, however, in 
January, 1841, and at subsequent sessions showed that they recognized 



340 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the serious nature of affairs. At the May session, on motion of Mr. 
Mowry of Smithfield, the apportionment of the delegates had been 
changed so as to base it upon population. And at the session in June 
a memorial from the Suft'rage Association, asking that legal citizens 
who paid taxes upon real estate or personal property be permitted to 
vote upon the adoption of the proposed constitution, was warmly 
discussed by Messrs. Atwell of Glocester and Ames of Providence, 
respectively in favor of and against the proposition, and was lost, the 
vote being ten to fifty-two. 

At the opening of the January session, in 1842, Mr. AtAvell intro- 
duced resolutions in the house providing for the acceptance of the Peo- 
ple 's constitution. A copy of the constitution, together with a certifi- 
cation of the vote upon it, had been transmitted to the general assem- 
bly by direction of the convention, and many of the more sanguine 
suffragists entertained the hope that the assembly would accept the 
constitution as in accordance with the undoubted will of the people. 
Mr. Atwell 's resolutions were supported by Messrs. Gavitt, J. H. 
Clarke and W. S. Purges, and opposed by Messrs. Randolph, Cranston, 
Dixon, King, Bosworth, Spencer, Whipple and others, and were lost 
by a vote of eleven to fifty-seven. Mr. Barber of Hopkinton then 
presented resolutions condemning the actions of the People's conven- 
tion, and they were accepted by a vote of sixty to seven. An act was 
passed providing that persons qualified to vote by the provisions of the 
new constitution should be qualified to vote on its acceptance. 

The laws against masonry had been a dead letter for some time, and 
at this session, Mr. Atwell presented an act repealing the forfeiture 
act of February 1, 1834, and the hostile legislation of January 27, 
1835. The repeal act passed the house by a vote of 37 to 17, and was 
accepted by the senate. This ended the public war against free 
masonry in Rhode Island. 

In February, 1842, the Landholders' convention reconvened. The 
preceding events, and especially the fact that a large percentage, if not 
a ma.jority of the freemen, had accepted the suffrage constitution, had 
convinced the conservative members that some concession was neces- 
sary. The draft of their own constitution was therefore reconsidered, 
and its suffrage provisions were extended. But as the convention had 
previously refused to give the eldest sons of freeholders the ballot, 
many believed that the actual number of votes would be lessened 
instead of increased. Mr. Dorr attended this convention, and took an 
early opportunity to offer a motion that the body adjourn without day, 
in view of the acceptance of the People 's constitution by popular vote. 
His motion was rejected— 11 to 51. The convention voted to submit 
its constitution to popular vote on March 21, 22 and 23, and a warm 
contest took place over it between the charter and the suffrage parties. 
Great efforts Avere made by the former to secure its acceptance. The 



The Dorr War and Its Results. 341 

opinion of the Supreme Court to the effect that the action of the 
People's convention was unlawful and revolutionary; and the opinions 
of the senatoi*s and representatives in Congress and of all the ex- 
Governors of the state, and of various other prominent public and 
private personages were obtained to the same effect. To oft'set in some 
measure the judicial and congressional thunderbolts against their 
document, the Suff'ragists published the opinions of Judge Pitman of 
the United States District Court, and of nine Democratic lawyers, to 
the effect that they considered the People's constitution to have been 
legally adopted. Many of the Suff'ragists, however, were disposed to 
drop the People's constitution, and, by accepting the practical benefits 
of the Landholders' constitution, avoid any trouble. That was un- 
doubtedly the most prudent course for them to have adopted, as they 
would have thus secured more than was again likely to be conceded to 
them by the freeholders. But j\Ir. Dorr was a radical, and would make 
no compromise. "The People's constitution," he said, "has been 
adopted, and is the law ; this device of our enemies to perplex the 
decision should be voted down. ' ' His advice was followed. In a total 
vote of 16,702— nearly three thousand more than had voted for the 
People's constitution— 8,013 voted for and 8,689 against the Land- 
holders' constitution. 

A special session of the general assembly had been called to meet in 
JNIarch, and after the rejection of the Landholders' constitution, Mr. 
Atwell moved that the People's constitution be submitted to a vote of 
the freeholders. The motion was lost— three to fifty-three. A resolu- 
tion warning the people against unlawful acts, was passed by a vote of 
sixty to six, and a bill introduced by W. S. Purges, for an extension of 
suffrage, failed, four to sixty. 

The suffrage party held numerous meetings, at which the people 
were called upon to be ready to enforce the popular will by arms, if 
necessary. Armed bands were organized and drilled and almost night- 
ly paraded the streets, and two or three chartered military companies 
decided to support the suff'rage cause. In consequence of these threats 
to resist the constituted authorities, the charter party, who were called 
"Algerines" by the suff'ragists, because of the alleged tyranny of their 
measures, assumed for themselves the name of the "Law and Order" 
party. Governor King convened the general assembly in extra session 
on April 25, to take precautionary measures to preserve the public 
peace. An act was passed to "prevent riots and tumultuous assem- 
blages", by the terms of which it was made "a misdemeanor, punishable 
by fine and imprisonment ' ' for any person to act as moderator or clerk 
at any election meeting under the People's constitution, and treason 
for any one to accept office under it.^ At the same time the assembly 

^This act made a person who allowed his name to be used as a candidate in 
elections other than those held in accordance with state laws, subject to a year's 



342 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

gave Governor King authority to take such measures as he should deem 
best to protect the public property, to fill vacancies, should any exist 
among the officers of militia, and to grant commissions, at his discre- 
tion, to officers of independent companies. A board of councillors, 
consisting of Lieutenant-Governor Diman, ex-Governors Penner and 
Arnold and four others was chosen to advise with the Governor, and 
the inhabitants of Providence were authorized to organize special 
police companies to assist in "the prevention or suppression of any 
tumult, riot or mob in said city". Governor King warned the militia 
to be in readiness for service at thirty minutes' notice. The passage 
of this act caused many of the more conservative of the Suffragists, 
who had never intended to resort to force, to withdraw from the organ- 
ization and submit to the constituted authorities. 

But meanwhile, Mr. Dorr and the leaders who stood by him were 
struggling to set up the People's government. After counting the 
votes, the People's convention had, on January 13, 1842, passed resolu- 
tions, declaring the constitution to have been duly ratified and adopted 
by a majority of the people of the state, and directing the officers of the 
convention to make proclamation in due form that the said constitution 
was to be henceforth the supreme and paramount law and constitution 
of the state. The proclamation was made, and an election Avas held 
under the new (People's) constitution on April 18, 1842, resulting in 
the election of Thomas W. Dorr as Governor, a general assembly, and 
the usual elective state officials. The People's assembly met in Provi- 
dence on May 3, received Governor Dorr's inaugural message, and 
after remaining in session two days, during which a few unimportant 
acts were passed, adjourned to meet in Providence again on the first 
Monday in January. It never reconvened, as the movement was 
suppressed. 

On April 20, came the regular charter election. To the law and 
order candidates, Samuel W. King and Nathaniel Bullock, was op- 
posed a Democratic, or Suffragist ticket, with Thomas P. Carpenter for 
Governor and Wager Weeden for Lieutenant-Governor. Many of the 
Suffragists, however, declined to recognize the validity of an election 
held under the charter and took no part. King was elected by 2,648 
majority, Carpenter's vote being only 2,211. Only ten Suffragists 
were elected to the assembly. 

Governor King in April sent a committee, consisting of John Whip- 
ple, John Brown Francis and Elisha R. Potter, to Washington to ac- 
quaint President Tyler of the situation in Rhode Island, and to solicit 
aid from the general government in maintaining the constituted officers 

imprisonment and $2,000 fine, and any one who assumed a state office because 
of such election would be deemed guilty of treason and subject to life imprison- 
ment. This act was called by the Sufliragists the" Algerine Law ", in comment 
upon its arbitrary nature. 



The Dorr War and Its Results. 343 

in authority. He also wrote directly to the President to the same 
effect. President Tyler declined to interfere previous to an actual 
outbreak, but promised, if an insurrection should take place, to aid 
the established government if such a course should become necessary. 

The "inauguration" of Governor Dorr had been accompanied by a 
show of force. Two military companies, with muskets loaded, as was 
claimed, with ball cartridges, had accompanied the procession of two 
thousand persons who escorted the "People's" Governor and general 
assembly to the place of meeting. The Law and Order party had 
closed and barricaded the State House, and the new government was 
forced to meet in an unfinished building intended for a foundry. Had 
the Suffragists at once broken into the State House and taken posses- 
sion of it and of the arsenal they would probably have succeeded, as 
public sentiment, in Providence at least, was considerably in their 
favor.^ But, although Mr. Dorr was in favor of such a course, most 
of the other leaders feared to take so radical a step. The legal general 
assembly met at Newport the same day (May 3) and all the leading 
state officials were away. It was the most favorable time for the 
accomplishment of the Suffragists' purpose, to take possession of the 
state government, that could have been chosen, but the leaders hesi- 
tated, and their followers immediately began to fall away. 

On May 4 a member of the People's legislature was arrested under 
the law recently enacted, and the arrest was followed by several others. 
This action frightened timid members and numerous resignations took 
place, so that, had the "assembly" again convened, it would doubtless 
have been without a quorum in either house. Mr. Dorr went to Wash- 
ington to request military aid of the general government, but was of 
course unsuccessful. On his return he issued a proclamation, assuring 
his followers that if the United States interfered against the people's 
cause, aid had been promised from other states, especially from New 
York, and that force would be met with force. 

The Law and Order assembly met at Newport on May 4 and passed 
resolutions declaring that a state of insurrection existed, and asking 
for the interposition of the authority and power of the national gov- 
ernment. Governor King despatched Representatives Randolph and 
Potter to Washington as messengers to President Tyler, and awaiting 
the latter 's answer, the assembly adjourned from the 6th till the 11th 
of jMay, when the Governor informed the two houses of the result. 
The President declined to intervene before the commencement of hos- 
tilities, and would not at all unless satisfied that the state authorities 
would "be unable to overcome" the insurrectionists. He tendered the 
Governor, however, the assurance of his "distinguished considera- 

^The records show that 1,060 freemen and 2,496 non-freemen, or 3,556 in all, 
voted in Providence for the People's constitution. The vote of Providence in 
well-contested elections, had seldom exceeded one thousand. 



344 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

tion." But such as it was the assembly ordered copies of the 
President's letter to be printed and circulated, together Avith' Governor 
King's proclamation, as a warning to the Suffragists to desist from 
their unlawful practices. 

During Mr. Dorr's absence, both parties were pushing on military 
preparations. The charter authorities had caused the militia compan- 
ies to be filled up and drilled, had placed a guard in the state arsenal, 
a strong stone building containing several pieces of artillery and a 
quantity of small arms and ammunition, had called upon the citizens 
to arm for the defense of the city, and had furnished all who applied 
with arms for this purpose. The Suffrage people were also doing all 
they could in the same direction, but, although they succeeded in 
collecting a considerable quantity' of arms, a portion of which came 
from without the state, they experienced some ditficulty in finding men 
to use them. 

Finally, on the 18th of May, Mr. Dorr determined to attack the 
^rsenal and take possession of the property there. He had, all told, 
according to his own statement, but two hundred and fifty men and 
two pieces of artillery. They started for the arsenal at two o'clock in 
the morning, and many of Dorr's forces, knowing that they were 
greatly outnumbered, slipped away in the darkness. A summons to 
surrender was contemptuously refused, whereupon more men deserted, 
including Dorr's second in command. To render the situation worse, 
some one had treacherously disabled the guns, so that when the match 
was applied they flashed without result. Finally Dorr retreated with 
thirty-five or forty men, all that remained at the end of this bloodless 
battle. Dorr fled to Connecticut, and was in hiding for some time, but 
returned in the latter part of June to the village of Chepachet in the 
toAvn of Glocester, which had become the headquarters of the People's 
party. A force of nearly three hundred men, with five cannon, was 
collected, and preparations were made to resist the Law and Order 
forces. The state militia to the number of about three thousand, 
assembled at Providence and marched against Chepachet on the morn- 
ing of June 28. Aware that resistance Avas useless, Dorr dismissed his 
small forces and again fled to Connecticut. The only blood shed 
during this entire trouble, which is known in history as the "Dorr 
War", was in Pawtucket village, where some of the militia on June 
27th fired into a riotous crowd, and killed an innocent spectator named 
Alexander Kelby. A good many arrests of persons suspected of taking 
part in the Dorr movements were made, and doubtless in some cases the 
triumphant militiamen who were sent to search houses were rough and 
brutal in their treatment of the suspects and their families. Most of 
the persons arrested were discharged after examination, but several 
were imprisoned and subsequently tried and sentenced for treason. 

A reward of five thousand dollars was offered for Dorr's arrest, and 



The Dorr War and Its Kesults. 345 

he was pursued by a party which included some of his own relatives, 
but he escaped and found a refuge in New Hampshire, where Governor 
Hubbard received him with honor, and refused to surrender him. 

At the June session of the general assembly, in 1842, a resolution by 
Mr. Clarke, calling a constitutional convention, passed the house by a 
vote of fifty-four to one, after an amendment by Mr. Daniels, extend- 
ing the privilege of voting on the the adoption of the constitution to all 
male citizens, had been rejected by a vote of six to fifty-eight. The 
Governor was authorized at this session to proclaim martial law when- 
ever, in his judgment, such action should be necessary and the assem- 
bly afterward declared martial law to be in force until suspended by 
the Governor. 

The constitutional convention met at East Greenwich in September, 
elected ex-Governor Fenner as presiding officer, and proceeded to form 
a constitution. It completed its labors on November 5, the docviment 
was submitted to the people on the 21st, 22d and 23d of the same month 
and was accepted by them by a vote of 7,032 to 59. The suffrage 
people generally, on the advice of their leaders, abstained from voting. 
In submitting the constitution the question of confining the suffrage to 
white male citizens had been left to the decision of the voters, and 
1,798 had voted for such restrictions, and 4,031 against it. Thus it 
happened that the Algerine constitution gave the colored citizens of 
the state citizenship privileges which the People's constitution had 
refused them. In consequence of this feature of the constitution the 
assembly repealed the act of June, 1841, whereby blacks and other 
people of color, not freemen of the state, were exempted from taxation. 
The assembly also passed an act to regulate the election of civil officers 
and provide the minor changes necessary to conform to the provisions 
of the new constitution. A resolution by this last assembly under the 
charter— a body which was overwhelmingly Whig in its political prin- 
ciples, shows the regard in which ex-President Jackson was really held 
by his political opponents. It passed a resolution instructing the 
Rhode Island senators and representatives in Congress to use their 
exertions to secure the passage of a law for the repayment of the fine 
imposed upon him a generation before by the United States District 
Court in Louisiana, that he might "be solaced by the reflection that 
every imputation upon his character had been removed". 

Although the Democrats and Suffragists had abstained from voting 
for or against the constitution, they were satisfied that resistance to its 
provisions would be useless, and they resolved to contest the April 
election in 1843. By the advice of Dorr and other leaders, the newly 
enfranchised citizens of liberal sentiments had registered in consider- 
able numbers, and the suffrage leaders were hopeful of carrying the 
election. Thomas F. Carpenter and Benjamin B. Thureton were 
placed at the head of their ticket, while the Law and Order party 



346 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

nominated ex-Governor James Fenner for Governor, and Byron Dimon 
for Lieutenant-Governor. The total vote was 16,520, of which Fenner 
received 9,107 and Carpenter 7,392. Providence, in which 2,529 non- 
property voters had registered, and whose whole voting list contained 
4,235 names, gave Fenner 2,118 and Carpenter 1,733 votes. The 
senate contained 24 Whigs and 7 Democrats, and the house 53 Whigs 
and 19 Democrats. 

The passing of a government which had been in existence for one 
hundred and eighty years and the installation of a new and untried 
one was an occasion of considerable solemnity. In a monarchy consid- 
erable form and pomp Avould have been displayed, but the Rhode 
Island change was carried out on election day at Newport in a very 
simple fashion. The affair took place in the little State House. Most 
of the members of the old assembly were re-elected for the new one. 
The charter assembly met in grand committee and appointed a joint 
committee of nine members^ to be present at the organization of the 
government under the constitution and make report, in order that the 
charter general assembly might know when its functions had been 
ended. This done, the two houses of the new assembly were called to 
order, and met in grand conunittee with Governor King in the chair. 
The votes for state officers were canvassed and the result announced. 
Then a committee of ten, three of whom were members of the charter 
committee, entered to inform the dying assembly that the government 
under the constitution was duly organized. The two grand commit- 
tees were both in the house chamber, and Governor King, without leav- 
ing his seat, called the charter one to order again. It received the 
report and then ordered itself dissolved. 

Under the new constitution the senate, which had been composed of 
ten members, elected on the state ticket, was increased to thirty-one 
members, one from each town and city, elected by the individual 
municipalities. The membership of the house was the same as under 
the charter, but members were distributed according to population with 
certain limitations. Every town was to have at least one member, and 
no municipality could have more than one-sixth of the whole. Under 
the new arrangement Providence's apportionment was raised from 
four to twelve — one-sixth of the whole number; Newport's was re- 
duced from six to five; Warwick's remained four and Portsmouth's 
was reduced from four to one. Of the other towns — each of which had 
two members under the charter, Smithfield 's number was increased to 
six, and North Providence, Cumberland and Scituate each to three; 
Cranston, Johnston, Glocester, Tiverton, South Kingstown, North 
Kingstown, Coventry, Bristol and Warren had two apiece ; and each of 
the remaining fifteen towns had one member. 

' All this committee were Whigs, all but one members of the constitution as- 
sembly, and one, the venerable James Fenner, was the Governor-elect. 



The Dorr AVar and Its Kesults. 347 

The Supreme Court Avas reorganized and a third assistant justice 
elected at the May session. The thanks of the assembly were voted 
to Henry A. S. Dearborn, the adjutant-general of the INIassachusetts 
militia, for the loan of arms to Rhode Island during the troubles of the 
year before, whose action, however, had been disavowed by both the 
Governor and the legislature of his own state. A new militia law, 
designed to increase the efficiency of the citizen soldiery in case of 
internal or external trouble, was passed at the June session of the 
assembly, and in October money was appropriated to reimburse Col- 
onel William P. Blodget and Stephen Hendrick for money expended 
by themselves in prosecutions brought against them by the state of 
Massachusetts for entering a dwelling in Bellingham, during the Dorr 
war, and arresting several Dorrites, in the execution of a military 
order. 

At the June session in 1843 the state was divided into two districts, 
to be called the eastern and western districts, and the qualified electors 
in each were entitled to elect a representative in Congress. At the 
previous January session the date for the congressional elections had 
been changed to August. It had been customary for many yeai*s to 
elect one member each from Providence and Newport counties — the 
two capitals usually furnishing the candidates. Both were now in the 
eastern district and only one of the sitting congressmen could be re- 
nominated. As it happened, both retired, and Henry Y. Cranston, a 
brother of the Newport congressman, was nominated for the position 
by the Whigs and Law and Order men. Elisha R. Potter received the 
nomination of the same party in the western district. The Democratic 
candidates were John H. Weeden of North Providence and Wilmarth 
N. Aldrich of Glocester. The Whig candidates were elected by large 
majorities. 

The murder, on December 31, 1843, of Amasa Sprague, a represen- 
tative from the town of Cranston in the general assembly, the head of 
the cotton manufacturing house of A. & W. Sprague, and a brother of 
Senator Sprague, caused the latter to resign his seat in the United 
States senate, and the vacancy was filled on January 25, 1844, by the 
election by the assembly of ex-Governor Francis. The vote stood 67 
for Francis and 26 for Christopher Spencer, whom the Democrats 
supported. 

A new license law was passed in January. It made the maximum 
license fee for retailers and wholesalers .$50 and $25, respectively, and 
gave one-half of the total proceeds from this source to each town or 
city, and the other half, less two-and-a-half per cent, for collection, to 
the state. An elaborate election law was also enacted. A noticeable 
feature of it was a provision by which, in case of bribery, both the 
giver and the taker were to be punished in equal degree. The militia 
law was again amended and the formation of independent companies 



348 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

continued to be encouraged by the bestowal of charters. A law giving 
married women control over their own property was passed at this 
session after a lengthy discussion. 

Directly after the adjournment of the January session of the assem- 
bly a memorial, signed by the eight Democratic members of the senate 
and the eighteen of the house, was presented in the national house, 
asking that the right of the sitting members of that body from Rhode 
Island to their seats be investigated, to ascertain if a portion of the 
freemen of the state had not been deprived of their right to vote by the 
suppression of the suffrage government. The memorial caused great 
indignation among the Law and Order citizens. Governor Fenner 
called the assembly together in extra session in March to take action 
upon what he considered an unwarrantable interference of the national 
government with the internal affairs of an individual state. A joint 
committee, composed entirely of Whigs, was appointed to investigate 
the conduct of the Democratic members. The latter were charged with 
having violated their oaths to support the constitution, and with 
having committed virtual treason against the state in calling for the 
interference of the national government in the internal affairs of the 
state. Three of the Democratic senators wavered, claiming that they 
had signed the memorial without clearly understanding its terms, but 
the rest stoutly defended themselves, declaring that although bound by 
oath to support the de facto constitution, they believed that that of the 
''People" had been lawfully adopted, and that their opponents had 
set them the example of asking for national interference in Rhode 
Island affairs, when they had asked for United States troops to help 
suppress the government set up under the People's constitution. A 
series of resolutions, denying the right of the United States to inter- 
fere in the internal affairs of the individual states, and censuring the 
Democratic memoralists was passed by a strict party vote. 

Mr. Dorr returned to Providence on October 31, 1843, with the 
intention of submitting to arrest and standing trial. He went to the 
City Hotel and calmly awaited the action of the authorities. He was 
soon arrested, under an indictment for high treason, and was placed in 
jail \Wthout bail. His trial was held at Newport, although the offenses 
with which he was charged were connnitted in Providence county. In 
the absence of his principal counsel, Samuel Y. Atwell, who was 
detained at home by illness, and who died a few months later, Mr. 
Dorr conducted his own defense, although he was assisted by Walter 
S. Burges of Providence and George Turner of Newport. The trial 
began on April 26, 1844. The jury was drawn from a panel of 108 
persons, all but one of whom were members of the Law and Order party, 
and that one was not drawn. It is now generally conceded that the 
prisoner was treated with scant courtesy. Some of the judges at times 
displayed an enmity toward him that Avould have been considered 



The Dorr "War and Its Results. 349 

brutal had he been an acknowledged murderer. Every ruling was 
against him, and his conviction was certain from the beginning. He 
was found guilty of treason, was sentenced to imprisonment for life on 
June 25, and was immediately incarcerated in the state prison at 
Providence. 

The general assembly again came to the aid of Colonel Blodget and 
Stephen Hendrick, who were being prosecuted by the Massachusetts 
courts for violation of Massachusetts territory in the Bellingham atfair 
two years before. At the time of its occurrence. Governor King had 
disavowed the conduct of the two men, and had surrendered them to 
Massachusetts upon a requisition from its Governor. The general 
assembly now passed a resolution appropriating money to pay all costs 
and tines in the case, declaring that the trespassing olBcials were obey- 
ing orders, and were hence blameless, and requesting Massachusetts 
to seek redress from Rhode Island rather than from its irresponsible 
agents. 

The national house passed a resolution by a vote of 78 to 71 to send 
for persons and papers regarding the suffrage question, and a commis- 
sion of investigation proceeded to Pawtucket in May, established its 
headquarters at Abell's tavern, on the Massachusetts side of the river, 
and proceeded to take testimony. The evidence collected, however, 
was largely of a partisan character, as the Law and Order men gen- 
erally paid no attention to the commission. 

The Dorr trial had attracted wide attention throughout the country. 
The Democratic press united in condemning the proceedings, and Dorr 
was heralded as a martyr to the principles of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. Nor did the Law and Order people receive much comfort 
from the Whig papers of other states. Their defense of their Rhode 
Island political associates was mainly perfunctory— based upon the 
principal of non-interference with the internal affairs of a sister state, 
rather than upon the intrinsic justice of the Law and Order cause. 
Outside newspapers raised a great clamor and demanded Dorr's re- 
lease. Democratic legislatures and conventions passed resolutions to 
the same effect, and "Whig statesmen, who were fighting for the party 
in a doubtful presidential campaign, were anxious to be relieved from 
a situation which was helping to make votes for the enemy. All man- 
ner of rumors were spread over the country regarding this political 
prisoner's treatment in prison. He Avas kept in solitary confinement 
in a noisome dungeon ; he was not allowed to communicate with or see 
his wife and children ;^ he was not allowed the use of a Bible, et cetera, 
et cetera. All this outside comment, interference and slander was 
extremely exasperating to the Law and Order politicians, but it could 
not be entirely ignored. At the June session of the assembly resolu- 

^ Dorr was a bachelor. 



350 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

tions were passed forbidding further prosecutions for treason, and 
ordering the release of parties awaiting trial in treason cases on writs 
of nolle prosequi. 

The two great parties were forming their alignments for the presi- 
dential campaign. Polk, the Democratic candidate, was from Jack- 
son's state, and he had been nicknamed ''Young Hickory." Demo- 
cratic campaign gatherings in Rhode Island would parade, plant a 
hickory pole, and shout for "Polk, Dallas and Dorr!" A great mass 
meeting to further the cause of liberation, and incidentally of the 
Democratic presidential nominee, was held on September 4. It was a 
big affair for that time. Large delegations were present from New 
York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Governor Hubbard of New 
Hampshire and ex-Governor Marcus Morton of Massachusetts were in 
attendance. Ex-President Jackson and Van Buren, Presidents-to-be 
Polk and Buchanan, and other leading Democratic statesmen sent 
letters of regret, expressing their sympathy with the cause. The pro- 
cession paraded the streets and marched to a grove on Smith's hill, 
where a hickory pole was planted, and speeches were made. It is 
noticeable that among the most aggressive of the orators upon this 
occasion was a young man from Waltham, Massachusetts, who after- 
wards became a prominent figure in the country's history — 
Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks. The Democratic organ, the Re- 
publican Herald, estimated the crowd in attendance at be- 
tween 40,000 and 50,000, but the Providence Journal declared 
that there were only 3,999 people— of whom 550 were women 
— in the parade, and that no more than 8,000 were at the grove. Such 
as it was, however, the demonstration alarmed the state authorities. 
Governor Fenner ordered a regiment of militia under arms, and some 
of them placed in the prison as a guard ; and the application of Walter 
S. Purges, counsel for Mr. Dorr, for permission to visit his client, was 
refused. 

Failing in the attempt to secure Mr. Dorr's release at this time, the 
Democrats had to be content with a lesser martyr. One Martin Luther, 
early in 1842, had been guilty of the heinous oft'ense of presiding 
at a "People's" meeting after the assembly had declared such action 
to be criminal, and he had been haled before the Algerine "Diet of 
Worms" and sentenced to pay a fine of $500, in default of which he 
was incarcerated in the jail at Bristol. Shortly before the presidential 
election the amount of Luther's fine and costs was raised by the Demo- 
crats, and a party of them went to Bristol with the money and secured 
his release. The party in passing through Warren, on their return, 
were stoned by the Whigs, were refused refreshments by the Whig 
innkeepers, and were obliged to cross the line into Massachusetts to 
obtain food.^ 

' His arrest gave rise to the celebrated case of Luther vs. Borden, in which 



The Dorr War and Its Kesults. 351 

The electoral vote of the state was cast for Henry Clay, the Whig 
candidate. He received 7,322 votes to -i,876 for James K. Polk, and 
107 for James G. Birney, the Liberty candidate. 

At the opening of the January session of the assembly in 1845, 
Governor Fenner transmitted to the two houses a copy of resolutions 
passed by the New Hampshire legislature regarding the trial and 
imprisonment of Dorr. The resolutions in substance charged the 
Khode Island authorities with unfairness and persecution, and a spe- 
cial committee to which they were referred drew up resolutions in 
reply, resolving that the said resolutions "marked, as they are, by the 
grossest falsehood, ignorance and impertinence, are at once dis- 
graceful to the legislature of New Hampshire, and insulting to the 
government and people of Rhode Island". Resolutions equally irri- 
tating from the Maine legislature, which had been referred to Rep- 
resentatives John H. Clarke and William G. Goddard of Providence, 
were answered in June in terms equally strong but much more elegant. 
The congressional investigation of the suffrage question in the state 
had been completed, and the testimony, known as "Burke's Report," 
comprising a volume of a thousand pages, was being discussed by 
people and papers of other states.^ As the report was practically 
condemnatory of the proceedings of the charter authorities, a commis- 
sion was appointed by the assembly to ' ' prepare an authentic account 
of the recent struggle in the state in the cause of constitutional free- 
dom." At the same time a resolution was adopted to liberate Dorr on 
condition that he should take an oath of allegiance to the state and 
swear to support the constitution. He declined to accept the condi- 
tions. 

The assembly passed resolutions at the January session condemning 
the annexation of Texas.- The problem of providing sufficient revenue 
for the expenses of the state government had always been a difficult 
one, and the increase of the state in population and the rapid expan- 
sion of its industries added to the gravity of th'e situation. A new 
expedient to increase the revenue at this session was tried by means of 
an act requiring fees of from one to ten dollars on all petitions and 

Luther brought an action of trespass against the person sent to arrest him. 
The case finally came before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1848, 
when the chief question at issue resolved itself as to the legality of the People's 
government in 1842. Although the court refvised to decide the case on the 
ground that it was not within the authority of the court, the testimony and 
arguments in the trial, together with the dissenting opinion of Mr. Justice Wood- 
bury as to martial law, make the case of considerable importance. (See Bibli- 
ography at close of last volume under DORR WAR, under the names of Luther, 
Webster, Wliipple. See also Rider's Book Notes, xvii, 33.) 

'S. S. Rider has noted certain bibliographical memoranda concerning Burke's 
Report in Book Notes, vol. 5, p. 1. A minority report, called Causin's Report, a 
document of 172 pages, was also rendered. 

■In this connection see an Address to the people of R. I., upon the course of lion. 
E- R. Potter, upon the question of the annexation of Texas [1845]. 



352 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

memorials to the general assembly. The license fees for hawkers and 
peddlers were also raised to from $75 to $200, the maximum rate being 
charged to sellers of gold jewelry. At the May session the license law 
was amended so as to allow municipalities to vote upon the question of 
licensing the sale of intoxicating liquors at their annual elections. In 
June, 1845, acts were passed, electing a commissioner of public schools ; 
providing that in the event of the neglect of a school district to provide 
schools, the school committee might do so on its own responsibility ; and 
providing for the employment of prisoners in jails. 

As Dorr was fast becoming a national martyr in the popular mind, 
the Law and Order legislators at last gave way, and a resolution passed 
both houses on June 27, releasing him and other treason-convicts un- 
conditionally and forbidding further prosecutions under the treason 
act of 1842. News of the passage of the amnesty act reached Provi- 
dence at half past three on the afternoon of the 27th, and "Walter S. 
Purges immediately drove in a carriage to the prison and took Dorr to 
his father's house. As he left the prison cannon boomed from Smith 
and Federal hills, bells were rung, and a procession of carriages and 
pedestrians followed the hack which contained the ' ' people 's martyr. ' ' 
In the evening Dorr was taken in a carriage to the residence of a friend 
in the Cranston suburbs. JNIarket Square was packed with his sympa- 
thizers as he drove through, and a vast crowd surrounded the house of 
his entertainer and listened to congratulatory speeches. The stories 
of the brutal treatment of Dorr in prison were doubtless greatly 
exaggerated, and many of them were pure fabrications, but the jails 
and prisons of half a century ago were not healthful residences. Mr. 
Dorr left prison broken in health and he never recovered his former 
vitality. 

On January 15, 1845, Albert C. Greene was elected United States 
senator to succeed John Brown Francis. He received 52 votes in 
grand committee, while Lemuel Arnold and Olney Ballon— the latter 
the Democratic candidate, v/ere given, respectively, 25 and 18 votes. 

The Democrats received many accessions from the AVhig ranks in 
the gubernatorial campaign of this year, chiefly from those who favored 
the release of Dorr. Charles Jackson, one of these Liberation AA^higs, 
was nominated for Governor by the Democrats, and was elected by a 
majority of 149. Byron Dimon, however, the Whig, or Law and Order 
candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, was elected over Robert Hazard, 
the Liberation candidate, and all of the other candidates on the 
"Rhode Island Prox" defeated their coalition opponents. In this 
campaign ex-Senator Lemuel H. Arnold and Senator James F. Sim- 
mons espoused the cause of liberation, and the former was nominated 
by the coalitionists for Congress in the western district against Elisha 
R. Potter, and was elected by a small majority. In the eastern district 
Henry Y. Cranston was re-elected without opposition. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
FROM THE DORR WAR TO THE CIVIL WAR. 

The liberation of Dorr weakened the coalition against the Whigs, as 
they regained by that act many AVhig votes that had been cast against 
them in April, 1845. The Democrats, however, renominated Charles 
Jackson in 1846. Jesse L. Moss of Westerly was their candidate for 
Lieutenant-Governor. Ex-Governor Fenner was in feeble health,^ and 
being no longer available as a candidate, Lieutenant-Governor Diman 
was nominated for Governor by the Whigs, while Elisha Harris of 
Coventry was named by them for Lieutenant-Governor, The Liberty 
(Abolition) party nominated Edward Harris of Woonsocket and 
'Stephen Wilcox of Hopkinton, for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, 
respectively, and although they received very few votes, their candi- 
dature prevented an election by the people. The vote stood, Diman, 
7,477; Jackson, 7,389; Harris and scattering, 155. Diman and the 
other AAliig candidates were elected in grand committee, Diman by a 
vote of 61 to 39. 

The general assembly passed resolutions in opposition to tariff 
reduction at the January session in 1846, while it approved of the 
reduction of postage rates. The resolutions regarding the latter, as 
presented in the house, commended Senator Simmons for his successful 
efforts in behalf of cheap postage, but the senator M'as not yet forgiven 
for favoring the liberation of Dorr, and, as they were finally adopted, 
he was entirely eliminated from the resolutions. A committee was 
appointed at this session to inquire and report concerning the old 
registered state debt. The annual tinkering of the license law took 
the form this year of an amendment providing for the election, at the 
option of the individual municipalities, of officials to complain of 
violations of the law. At the June session resolutions passed the 
assembly congratulating General Taylor for the victories of Palo Alto 
and Resaca de la Palma over the Mexicans. The Providence and Fall 
River and Providence and Plainfield railroads were incorporated in 
1846, and their charters authorized them to erect toll-houses and 
establish toll-gates on their respective roads. 

John H. Clarke of Providence was elected on October 29, 1846, to the 

' Governor Fenner died on April 17, 1846. He was born in 1771. 
23-1 



354 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

United States senate, to succeed John Brown Francis. He received 
59 votes, while 34 Democratic assemblymen cast their ballots for 
Thomas W. Dorr. 

Olney Ballon of Cumberland and John D. Austin of North Kings- 
town were the Democratic nominees for Governor and Lieutenant- 
Governor in 1847. The Whigs put Lieutenant-Governor Harris at the 
head of their ticket, with Edward W. Lawton of Newport in the second 
place. Edward Harris was again the candidate of the Liberty party, 
and a "License" party entered the field with Willard Hazard of South 
Kingstown, and Israel Crocker of Newport as its candidates. The 
Whigs had over 1,200 majority, and nearly 2,000 plurality over their 
Democratic opponents. The License, Liberty and scattering votes for 
Governor aggregated only 743. The Prohibitionists entered the polit- 
ical field in Providence this spring. They nominated Amos C. Barstow 
for mayor, in opposition to Mayor Burgess, and Benjamin Cowell, a 
Democrat, was also nominated. Burgess won easily over both oppo- 
nents, and the city voted for license by a narrow margin. In the 
congressional elections Robert B. Cranston, Whig, was elected in the 
eastern district by 24 majority over Fenner Brown, Democrat, John 
Boyden, jr., Liberty, and the scattering vote. In the western district 
Wilkins Updike, Whig, received 2,035 votes ; Benjamin B. Thurston, 
Democrat, 1,928 ; Lemuel H. Arnold, Whig, 451, and Lauriston Hall, 
Liberty, 172. There was no choice, but Thurston defeated Updike in 
August by a plurality of 65 votes. 

An act authorizing justices of the peace to join persons in marriage 
was laid on the table in the house by a vote of 26 to 16 at the January 
session, 1847. Resolutions, condemning the reduction of tariff rates, 
the sub-treasury system, and the war with Mexico passed the house by 
a vote of 29 to 20, and the senate by 17 to 12. The assembly, however, 
appropriated $2,500 to assist in the equipment of Captain Pitman's 
Providence company in Colonel Ramsay's regiment of New England 
Volunteers. An act was passed at this session giving probate courts 
jurisdiction over sales of real estate belonging to minors, and the 
Supreme Court was authorized, at its discretion, to dispense with the 
three years' residence requirement in divorce cases. 

At the May session, in accordance with the recommendation of a 
committee of investigation, a radical change was made in the law regu- 
lating the management of the state prison. By its terms the prison 
inspectors were shorn of much of their authority, many of the officials 
and attendants were discharged, and the convict labor system Avas 
discontinued. There had been some complaint regarding prison man- 
agement, and there was considerable agitation against prison labor. 
It does not appear that the complaints were well-founded, and it was 
charged that the investigating committee ignored the prison inspectors 
and did not make a thorough and impartial investigation ; that their 



From the Dorr War to the Civil War. 355 

report was hurriedly made and hurriedly acted upon by the assembly, 
and that the protests and statements of the inspectors and prison 
officials in answer to criticisms were ignored. The facts were pretty 
thoroughly ventilated in the newspapers in the interval between the 
May and June sessions, and the former law was practically restored at 
the latter sitting. An act granting Newport a city charter was sub- 
mitted to the voters of that town on May 15, this year, and was re- 
jected, the vote standing 339 to 388. 

In June a general incorporation law was enacted. One of its salient 
features was the provision that owners should not be individually 
liable for more than the amount of their capital in incorporated com- 
panies. The first telegraph company organized in the state was incor- 
porated this year. It was authorized to build and operate lines from 
Providence to connect with outside lines running to Boston, New York, 
Fall River and Newport. 

The annual resolutions of the assembly regarding national affairs in 
1848 were rather more elaborate than usual. While it acknowledged 
the principle of a tariff for revenue rather than protection — an un- 
usual concession by a New England legislature — it believed that the 
duties should be levied upon articles that came into competition with 
home productions, and that articles of general consumption, particu- 
larly tea and coffee, which could not be produced at home, should be 
free of duty. Slavery was condemned in the District of Columbia, 
and President Polk was censured for not managing negotiations with 
Mexico so as to avoid war. 

An act was passed at the January session forbidding the assistance 
of sheriffs and other state officials in the capture or detention of 
alleged fugitive slaves. An amendment of the law for the relief of 
poor debtors provided for their discharge if their creditors neglected to 
pay for their board. It also provided, after a debtor had been in jail 
over six months, for his being put to labor for the benefit of his 
creditor. An ineffectual attempt was made at this session to abolish 
capital punishment. 

The Supreme and Common Pleas courts were reorganized in May. 
The side judgeships of the latter courts were abolished, and they were 
thereafter to be presided over by the justices of the Supreme Court. 
An attempt was made by the assembly to ameliorate the diyness of 
"no license" towns by an amendment authorizing the town councils in 
such cases to license one or more "discreet persons" to sell ardent 
spirits for "medicinal and artistical purposes." In prosecuting cases 
of violation of the license law exclusive jurisdiction was given to 
justice courts, without appeal. The constitutionality of this feature 
of the law was questioned. No attempt was made to enforce it, and it 
was repealed at a subsequent session. The general assembly at the 
May session thanked Rhode Island officers of the reg-ular and volunteer 



356 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

forces who served in the war with Mexico, and it congratulated France 
for its adoption of a republican form of government. The advocates 
of a city form of government in Newport procured the passage of 
another act of incorporation in May, and the people rejected it on 
October 16, 1848, only 230 voting for it, while its opponents numbered 
325. 

Harris and Lawton were re-elected in April by about 1,500 majority 
over Adnah Sackett of Providence and John D. Austin of North 
Kingstown, the Democratic candidates, and in November, Taylor easily 
secured the electoral vote of the state, the vote being Taylor, 6,779 ; 
Cass, 3,646 ; Van Buren, 730. 

In 1849 the Whigs placed Henry B. Anthony, editor of the Provi- 
dence Journal, in nomination for Governor, with Judge Thomas Whip- 
ple of Coventry for Lieutenant-Governor. Mr. Anthony, who was 
then thirty-four years of age, had been editor of the Journal since 
1838, and had made it one of the most frequently quoted of New 
England newspapers. The Democrats again nominated Sackett, with 
Thomas J. Hazard of West GreeuAvich, an influential member of the 
assembly, as their candidate for Lieutenant-Governor. Edward 
Harris and Jacob D. Babcock of Hopkinton were the Free Soil candi- 
dates. The campaign was a tame one, as the Democrats made little 
effort. The only real contest was over the office of secretary of state, 
which had been held continuously by Henry Bowen since 1819. He 
was defeated for renomination in the Whig state convention by Chris- 
topher E. Bobbins, a representative in the general assembly from 
Newport, and then ran as an independent candidate. There was no 
choice by the people, but Bobbins was chosen by the general assembly. 
George G. King, Whig, was elected to Congress in the eastern district, 
by 1,558 majority over Fenner Brown, Democrat, John Boyden, jr., 
Free Soil, and the scattering votes. There was no choice in the west- 
ern district. Benjamin B. Thurston, the Democratic candidate, 
received twenty plurality over Sylvester G. Shearman, Whig, but the 
Free Soil party had a candidate in the person of Lauriston Hall, and 
his vote, although only 160, was sufficient to prevent a choice. A 
second trial took place in August, when Nathan F. Dixon of Westerly, 
the Whig candidate, Mr. Shearman having withdrawn, was elected by 
a plurality of 615. 

An attempt was made at the January session in 1849 to do away with 
the October session. An act to that effect passed the senate by a large 
majority, but was laid on the table in the house. An important 
measure passed at this session, and made necessary by the completion 
of the Providence and Worcester railroad, Avas an act providing for the 
close of the Bhickstone canal and the revocation of its charter. The 
canal had never been a paying venture, and the railroad would now 
deprive it of what little business it had been able to secure. Acts were 



From tpie Dorr War to the Civil War. 357 

passed to prevent clandestine niarriaoes; to tax machinery, lumber, 
tools, the stock in livery stables, and similar personal property in the 
towns in which such property was located ; and to provide for the 
taking of a new estimate of property in the state. The general assem- 
bly expressed a desire for the abolition of ardent spirits and flogging 
in the navy, for the prohibition of slavery in the territory recently 
acquired from Mexico, and for the abolition of slave marts in the 
District of Columbia. 

An elaborate school law, prepared mainly under the direction of the 
commissioners of public schools, and which was designed to revise and 
consolidate the whole system of public schools, was lost at the January 
session in 1850 by the disagreement of the two houses regarding the 
method of raising the necessary school revenue. The senate, by a vote 
of two to one, required the state to provide the whole amount, while 
the house, by a vote quite as emphatic, insisted upon retaining the 
existing system, which obliged the individual municipalities to appro- 
priate a sum equal to one-third of the amount they were to receive from 
the state in behalf of the public schools. An elaborate militia law, 
retaining the features of the voluntary system, and containing strin- 
gent provisions regarding the collection of commutation money, passed 
the senate, but was lost in the house. The existing law, however, was 
amended by the adoption of the Massachusetts system of compensation 
for militia service. Acts were passed allowing Providence to establish 
a reform school ; providing a more efficient system of registering births, 
marriages and deaths; and amending the license law by requiring 
complainants, other than regularly authorized officials, to give surety 
for the cost of prosecution, when making complaints of violations of 
the law. The act passed a few years before requiring the payment 
of fees upon petitions and memorials to the general assembly was 
repealed. 

The State House at Providence, a building which had been in exist- 
ence nearly a hundred years, and which had always been used for the 
courts, as well as for legislation, had become ridiculously inadequate 
to the state's requirements. The necessity for enlarged quarters was 
now universally recognized. The rapid growth of Providence had 
made the need of a new city building equally urgent. A connnittee 
was appointed at the January session of the general assembly this year 
to confer with the city officials, with the view of the erection conjointly 
by the state and city of a suitable building for the use of both govern- 
ments. The committee made a report at an August session of the assem- 
bly, and presented a plan of and estimates for the proposed building. 
It was proposed to locate the structure upon filled land in the center 
of the "Cove." According to the plan a circular area four hundred 
feet in diameter was to be filled in. The structure, to be erected upon 
a foundation raised five feet above the remainder of the area, was to be 



358 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

200 by 68 feet in length and breadth. It was to be of Anglo-Italian 
architecture, with exterior walls of Portland freestone and interior 
walls of brick, with a wooden dome, covered with copper. The western 
half of the building was to be the ''State House," and the eastern half 
the ' ' City Hall. ' ' The cost of filling the central area, including that 
of four suitable bridges, connecting with surrounding streets, was 
estimated at $34,600, and that of the whole building, including the 
tilling, at $176,995.^ An act was introduced in the house providing for 
the erection of a new State House in conjunction with the city of Provi- 
dence, but it was postponed until the next session, and was never again 
brought forward. At the October session a resolution was adopted to 
build an addition to the old State House at a cost not to exceed $7,500, 
and at the following January session, that sum proving inadequate, 
$2,300 more was appropriated for the purpose. 

At the Au^ist session of 1850, George H. Browne of Glocester, the 
Democratic leader in the house, introduced a secret ballot law, direct- 
ing ballots to be cast in sealed envelopes. It was postponed. The 
charter granted by the assembly this year for the proposed Providence 
and Bristol railroad contained the old turnpike provision for the erec- 
tion of toll gates and the collection of tolls. A resolution introduced 
at this session to remove the political disabilities incurred by partici- 
pation in the insurrection of 1842, was defeated in the senate by an 
adverse vote of 17 to 14. An amendment to the election law repealing 
the section requiring voters to write their names upon the backs of 
their ballots, was laid on the table by a house vote of 35 to 22. As the 
two houses disagreed as to the day of adjournment at this session, 
Governor Anthony adjourned them on his own authority. 

The Democrats did not contest the election of Governor Anthony in 
1850. The latter 's only opponent was Edward Harris, the Free Soil 
candidate, who received 753 votes in a total of 4,576. The great 
industrial development of the state between 1840 and 1850 was shown 
by the census figures of the latter year. The state had advanced in 
population during the decade from 108,830 to 147,545, and the city of 
Providence had gained about 80 per cent, or from 23,172 to 41,513. 
Smithfield now had 11,500 and Newport 9,563. North Providence and 
Cumberland, in which were portions of Pawtucket and Woonsocket, 
had gained handsomely, and Cranston's figures were beginning to show 
the overflow of Providence's population. The census showed that 
there were 10,275 persons of foreign birth in Providence, and 23,860 
in the whole state. The immigration from Ireland had been large 
since 1848, in consequence of the famine on that island, and many of 
the people of Rhode Island viewed the advent of such a large non- 

' A quarter of a century later the city alone built a million-dollar edifice, 
which is now, after the lapse of another quarter of a century, too small for the 
city's use. 






From the Dorr War to the Civil War. 359 

Protestant element with alarm. This large Irish infusion was also 
unwelcome to the Whigs from a political point of view. The Demo- 
crats, as the champions of free suffrage, had demanded that natural- 
ized citizens should be granted the franchise upon the same conditions 
that it was enjoyed by the native votere. The Whig newspapers of the 
state, led by the Providence Journal — which, under the editorial man- 
agement of Governor Anthony, had already attained to scriptural 
authority— now pointed to the statistics of the foreign born, and 
prophesied dire disaster if naturalized foreigners were admitted to the 
suffrage. 

Although the Democrats had allowed the election of 1850 to go by 
default, they had not given up the struggle for political supremacy. 
The state, city and town committees toward the end of the year took an 
active interest in the registry of the voters, and early in January, 1851, 
the Providence Journal warned the Whigs that the Democrats were 
preparing to contest the spring election, and had beaten the Whigs in 
registering in the city of Providence. To add to the M^hig alarm, they 
were outgeneraled and defeated in the election of a successor to Albert 
C. Greene in the United States senate. The election took place in grand 
committee on January 30, and although the Whigs had a majority of 
fully 25 on joint ballot, Charles T. James, who was supported by the 
Democrats and a dozen or more Whigs, was elected senator on the 
eighth ballot, by one majority, he receiving 50 of the 99 votes east. 
The AVhig vote was divided between John Whipple, ex-Senator Sim- 
mons. Alfred Bosworth and George A. Brayton, the fii-st two receiving, 
respectively, 20 and 19 votes. Considerable discussion took place as to 
the senator-elect's politics, which was finally settled by Mr. James's 
announcement that he Avas a Democrat. It may be said, parenthetic- 
ally, that there were very few leading politicians of either party at 
this time who had not trained in different parties. Old men who had 
been rank Federalists of the Hartford convention stripe during the 
War of 1812, could now be found among the radical suffragists, and 
staid Whigs who had despised Jackson. because of his democratic ideas, 
tAventy years later could be seen marching in the mud, bearing "peo- 
ple's" banners, shoulder to shoulder with hard-handed workingmen ; 
while so-called Jacobins and radical levellers of earlier j^ears now 
helped to swell the conservative Whig majority. 

The Democrats selected Philip Allen, a wealthy Providence manu- 
facturer! as its candidate for Governor, and nominated the gifted 
William Beach Lawrence for Lieutenant-Governor. Judge Lawrence 
was the first wealthy New Yorker to come to Newport and seek prefer- 
ment in the Rhode Island political field. He bought Ochre Point in 
1845, and resided there sunnners until 1850, when he made it his per- 
manent residence. Governor Anthony declined a third term, and the 
Whigs nominated Josiah Chapin of Providence for Governor, and 



360 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Rowse Babcock of Westerly for Lieutenant-Governor. Edward Har- 
ris was again supported by the Free Soilers, but received only 183 
votes. Allen was elected by 628 majority and the whole Democratic 
ticket triumphed. That party also carried the senate by two majority, 
while the Whigs had a bare majority in the house. The Democrats 
had a majority of the grand committee, and were able to make such 
changes as they pleased among the state officials. The AA^'higs claimed 
that the triumph of the Democrats was obtained by wholesale bribery, 
and they declared that votes sold in some towns as high as $80. At the 
time of the election of James to the United States senate, in the Jan- 
uary previous, adherents of both parties made charges of bribery 
against their opponents, and during one session of the grand commit- 
tee, Henry Y. Cranston, one of the Whig leaders of the house, in a 
moment of excitement charged Thomas Whipple, the Whig Lieutenant- 
Governor, Avith attempted bribery, although he afterward endeavored 
to explain away his words. 

Among the important legislation effected at the session of January, 
1851, were acts for the more efit'ectual suppression of gaming; and an 
act prohibiting the infliction of corporal punishment and confinement 
in dark rooms and dungeons, in asylums and in houses for the poor. 
A new apportionment of representatives to conform to the changes in 
population, as shown by the census of 1850, was made. North Provi- 
dence, Cumberland, Tiverton and Burrillville each gained a member, 
while Scituate lost one. The chamber, which had previously been 
limited to 69 members, now consisted of 72, the full constitutional 
number to which it was entitled. A lively debate took place over the 
fugitive slave law, and a resolution, directing the attorney-general to 
appear for any slave arrested under that law in the state, was rejected 
in the house by a decided vote. In May, Thomas W. Dorr and others, 
imprisoned under the treason act of 1842, were restored to citizenship 
privileges by votes of 18 to 11 in the senate and 39 to 32 in the house. 
Three Whigs in the senate and four in the house voted for the resolu- 
tion. 

The Democrats, having, with the aid of a few Whigs, a fair working 
majority in both chambers, succeeded in securing some of the legisla- 
tion for which they had been contending. A secret ballot law, which 
George H. Browne of Glocester, the Democratic leader of the house, 
had brought forward in January, was again introduced by him, and 
after a long debate, in which he, Fenner Brown of Cumberland, and 
Thomas Davis of North Providence, the Democratic champions of the 
bill, encountered Henry Y. Cranston of Newport, and Messrs. Curry 
and Potter of Providence in opposition, it passed the house by a vote 
of 38 to 28, and afterwards passed the senate. The act required voters 
to cast their ballots in sealed envelopes, which M^ere to be furnished to 
the several municipalities by the secretary of state. Another act which 



From the Dorr War to the Civil War. 361 

the Democrats succeeded in getting through was the extension of the 
time for paying, registry taxes up to within three days of an election. 
The much-needed revision of the school law was ett'ected at the June 
session, the two houses succeeding in agreeing upon the division of the 
support for the schools between the state and the individual municipal- 
ities, the state contributing the larger amount. A resolution was 
passed at the June session for the investigation of child labor in manu- 
facturing establishments by a special committee. President Fillmore 
visi,ted Newport in September, 1851, and was received with appropri- 
ate honors. He was entertained at the Bellevue House. The cotton 
manufacturers of the state were complaining of hard times early in the 
year. In January, according to the Providence Journal, over one- 
third of the cotton spindles in Rhode Island were idle. 

In January, 1852, after a long discussion, a bill originated by 
Thomas R. Hazard of South Kingstown, for the abolition of capital 
punishment, and forbidding the pardon of long term convicts, except 
by vote of three-fourths of all the members of both houses and the 
approval of the Governor, passed the senate by a vote of 17 to 13, and 
the house by 41 to 20. A resolution, inviting Louis Kossuth, the 
Hungarian patriot, to visit the state was adopted by both houses. 

The cause of temperance had been making steady progress for some 
time. Other states were adopting prohibitory legislation, and that of 
Rhode Island had been steadily leading up to it for some years. At 
the January session a prohibitory act was lost in the house by a vote of 
31 to 37. It passed both houses in May, however, with the proviso 
that the question of its repeal should be submitted to the people at the 
next state election. A ma.jority of the Whig members of the assembly 
favored the measure, and a majority of the Democrats opposed it, 
while most of the Whigs opposed referring the question to the people, 
and most of the Democratic members favored such reference. The 
law, which was to go into effect on the third Monday in July, provided 
for the appointment of one or two persons in each municipality to sell 
spirituous, liquors for medicinal and mechanical purposes only. 

The gubernatorial campaign of 1852 was a lively one. Both parties 
had registered heavily. The Democrats renominated the successful 
ticket of 1851, and the Whigs put ex-Governor Elisha Harris and 
Samuel G. Arnold of Providence at the head of their ticket. Early in 
the campaign Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence, in the course of a cam- 
paign speech, strongly opposed the proposed prohibitory law. In 
consequence of this speech a split ticket containing the name of Schuy- 
ler Fisher of Exeter for Lieutenant-Governor was circulated on 
election day, and received 813 votes, or sufficient to prevent any choice 
for Lieutenant-Governor by the people. Allen and the other Demo- 
cratic candidates, aside from the Lieutenant-Governor, were elected. 



362 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

but by reduced majorities. The Whigs had a majority of both houses, 
and Arnold was elected Lieutenant-Governor by a vote of 57 to 40 for 
Lawrence. The two parties were almost evenly divided in Providence, 
and the Democrats succeeded in electing one of the city's twelve repre- 
sentatives — Americus V. Potter— the first Democrat ever elected from 
that town in a straight contest between the two parties. 

This election was the first one under the envelope law, and the Dem- 
ocrats, claiming that the provisions of the act had been grievously 
violated in the city of Providence, where the election officials were 
nearly or quite all Whigs, presented a lengthy memorial, contesting the 
seats of the Whig senator and representatives from the city. A com- 
mittee of investigation was appointed, but the sitting members were 
not disturbed. The Democrats carried the state for Pierce in Novem- 
ber, the vote being, Pierce, 8,735 ; Scott, 7,626 ; Hale, Free Soil, 644. 
The vote of Providence was Pierce, 2,172 ; Scott, 2,267 ; Hale, 229. 

An act was passed at the January session in 1853 limiting the hours 
of labor in manufacturing establishments to ten hours unless otherwise 
agreed upon ; forbidding the employment of children under twelve 
years of age in such establishments, and limiting the hours of labor 
for children under eighteen years of age. Senator Clarke 's term in the 
United States senate was to expire on March 4, 1853, and on February 
1, the house invited the senate to meet it in grand committee for the 
purpose of electing his successor. The Democrats were then in tempo- 
rary control of the senate, and it refused the invitation. This pre- 
vented the election of a Whig to the senate, as Governor Allen was 
elected senator at the May session following. 

The Whig candidates for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor in 
1853 were William W. Hoppin of Providence and Samuel Rodman of 
South Kingstown. The Democrats renominated the old ticket, with 
the exception of Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence, who declined, and for 
whom Francis M. Dimond of Bristol was substituted. The Free Soil 
candidates were Edward Harris and Stephen Wilcox of Westerly. 
The Democratic candidates were elected by an average of over 1,500 
majority, and that party secured a majority of both houses of the 
general assembly, all of the Providence assemblymen being Democrats. 
The popular vote on the question of repealing the prohibitory liquor 
law was, for repeal, 8,228, against repeal, 9,280. Providence voted 
against repeal by 377 majority. Thomas Davis and Benjamin B. 
Thurston, the Democratic candidates, Avere elected to Congress in the 
eastern and western districts, respectively, the latter practically with- 
out opposition. Davis's majority over Congressman King and John 
H. Willard, Free Soil, was only 175 in a total vote of 10,873. 

The Democrats had now carried the state at three successive elec- 
tions, and had finally obtained unquestioned control of both houses. 
They believed that the time had arrived for the adoption of measures 



From the Dorr War to the Civil War. 363 

for which they had been long contending. At the May session acts 
were passed giving registry voters in Providence the privilege of 
voting for mayor. At the mayoralty election of that month, Walter 
R. Danforth, the Democratic candidate, was elected mayor. This was 
the first time the old Federal-Whig city had been lost to the opposition. 
On May 5 a resolution advocated by Senators Charles S. Bradley of 
North Providence and Nathan Porter of Cranston, requesting the 
freemen of the several municipalities on June 28 to vote for or against 
a constitutional convention, and at the same time to elect delegates to 
such convention, passed both houses without opposition. The proposi- 
tion was defeated by the people, 4,570 voting for and 6,282 against a 
convention. At a special session of the assembly in September a reso- 
lution, introduced by Thomas Steere of Smithfield, calling together the 
delegates elected in June to consider three propositions — the abolition 
of the registry tax, the districting of cities and large towns for the 
election of members of the house of representatives, and the extension 
of time for the registration of voters— passed both houses by nearly 
strict party votes. It was submitted to the people November 21, 1853, 
and was rejected by more than two to one. At each of the two trials 
all of the Whig towns voted nay, while the Democratic towns were 
about evenly divided. 

Newport voted in INlay, for the third time since 1847, on the propo- 
sition of adopting a city form of government, and accepted the charter 
by a vote of 460 to 328. At the September term of the assembly the 
house voted— 43 to 22 — to declare the seats of the Supreme Court 
justices vacant. In the senate a Democratic secret caucus revealed so 
much opposition to the measure, that it was concluded not to bring 
it to vote. 

At the January session in 1854, nine proposed amendments to the 
constitution were adopted by both houses, and one — abolishing impris- 
onment for debt, was rejected. The new assembly — which had Whig 
majorities in both houses — at the May session adopted five of the 
propositions and rejected four. The proposed amendments were sub- 
mitted to popular vote on November 7, 1854, and three of them were 
adopted, as follows: (1) Relieving town and ward clerks from the 
necessity of forwarding to the general assembly lists of persons voting 
at elections, adopted by a vote of 3,216 to 2,115; (2) granting the 
Governor the pardoning power, with the advice and consent of the 
senate, adopted, 3,928 to 1,405; (3) providing for one session of the 
general assembly in May at Newport, with an adjourned session at 
Providence in January, adopted, 3,701 to 1,729. A proposition to 
abolish the registry tax, and one allowing registration to within twelve 
days of elections were defeated, as they failed to receive three-fifths 
of the votes polled, although both received majorities. 

The third amendment adopted at this time abolished the five-capital 



364 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

system, which had been so long in vogue. The immediate effect of the 
change was the lengthening of the May session at Newport, but after a 
year or two the previous custom of adjourning at the end of election 
week was resumed. The January session had been for a long time the 
chief one of the year. The amendment made it more so than ever. 
The multiplication of railroads had made it easy for assemblymen to go 
to Providence and return to their homes the same day after attending 
the sessions of the legislature, and they had come to realize the folly 
of traveling around to each county at a needless expense to the state, 
and at considerable discomfort to themselves. 

The Democratic majority in January, 1854, passed an act dividing 
the sixth ward of Providence and providing for the election of alder- 
men in that city by wards, instead of on a general ticket, and also a 
resolution repealing, reversing and annulling the judgment of the 
Supreme Court whereby Thomas Wilson Dorr of Providence, on the 
25th day of June, 1844, was sentenced to imprisonment for life at hard 
labor in separate confinement. This resolution passed the house by a 
vote of 44 to 17. 

Although the Democratic victory the preceding year had been a 
crushing one to the old AVhig party, the course of events had greatly 
weakened the victors. They had lost strength by favoring a constitu- 
tional convention, and the enfranchisement of naturalized citizens who 
did not own real estate ; and the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill — 
a Democratic measure— by Congress, added tD their unpopularity. 
The Democratic state convention made choice of Francis M. Dimond 
of Bristol and Americus V. Potter for its leading candidates. The 
Whigs renominated Hoppin for Governor, and chose John J. Reynolds 
of North Kingstown as their candidate for Lieutenant-Governor. The 
Temperance party endorsed Hoppin 's nomination, but made independ- 
ent nominations for the other places on the ticket, including that of 
Schuyler Fisher of Exeter as its candidate for Lieutenant-Governor. 
Mr. Hoppin was elected Governor by a vote of 9,216 to 6,523 for 
Dimond, but there was no choice for the other offices, the Whig vote 
ranging from 6,445 to 6,882, that of the Democrats from 6,425 to 6,596, 
and the Temperance total from 2,574 to 2,871. Both houses contained 
Whig majorities, and the Whig candidates were elected to the vacant 
offices. 

Having obtained power once more the Whigs, at the May session of 
1854, proceeded to undo some of the legislation enacted by the Demo- 
crats. The secret ballot law was amended so as to make the use of the 
envelopes optional with the voters; the registry men of Providence 
were deprived of the right to vote for mayor ; and the Supreme Court 
was requested to pass upon the constitutionality of the vote in January 
annulling the action of the Supreme Court in the case of T. W. Dorr. 
The decision of the court, received at the June session, was to the effect 



From the Dorr War to the Civil War. 365 

that the annulling resolutions were unconstitutional. A resolution 
was passed at this session forbidding state officials from aiding in the 
capture of fugitive slaves. 

Thomas Wilson Dorr died on December 27, 1854. The Democratic 
masses looked upon him as a martyr, but many of his strongest oppo- 
nents in 1842, by the fortune of politics, had become Democratic 
leaders ten or a dozen years later, and never allowed him to assume 
the leadership of the party after his restoration to citizenship privi- 
leges. He was still prominent in the counsels of the party, however, 
and was Lieutenant-Governor Dimond's chief competitor, as the party 
leader, at the Democratic state convention early in the year. 

A score of years previous to this time Rhode Island had been exten- 
sively infected with the Anti-Masonic craze, which had proved to be a 
most disturbing element in politics. Now, as the Whig organization 
was going out of existence and the Republican party was forming, the 
Know Nothing movement came to the front, and for a brief time took 
political control of the state. The anti-foreign craze had been helped 
by the course of the Providence Journal and other Whig papers, which, 
in order to defeat Democratic schemes for a constitutional convention, 
had given great prominence to the dangers likely to result from the 
extensive enfranchisement of naturalized citizens. The Know Noth- 
ings worked secretly, but there were signs of their presence in the 
state in the fall of 1854.^ At an election in Cumberland, a Democratic 
town, early in November, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of one of 
the representatives in the general assembly, Rev. John Boyden, the 
Know Nothing candidate, defeated Fenner Brown, one of the ablest 
and most popular Democrats in Rhode Island. 

The Whigs, in March, 1855, renominated Governor Hoppin and the 
rest of their successful ticket of the previous year, and Hoppin was 
endorsed by the Temperance party and the Know Nothings. The 
latter party, however, nominated Anderson C. Rose of New Shoreham 
for Lieutenant-Governor, and made independent nominations for the 
other three state offices whose incumbents were chosen by popular 
vote.- The Democrats chose as their standard bearers Americus V. 
Potter of Providence and William Littlefield of Newport. The Know 
Nothings united with the Whigs in nominating Nathaniel B. Durfee 
for Congress in the eastern district, and endorsed the candidacy of 
Benjamin B. Thurston, who was renominated by the Democrats in the 
western district. The latter was elected almost without opposition. 

^ The sudden rise of the Know-Nothing party to power has been traced by 
Charles Stickney in an excellent monograph on Kmw-Nothiiigism in Rhode 
Island {R. I. Hist Soc. Ptibl., i, 243, and also in Bromi Univ. Hint. Stm. Papers, 
no. 3). 

^ Secretary of state, attorney-general and general treasurer. 



366 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

In the eastern district Durfee received 6,283 votes to 1,987 for Thomas 
Davis, the Democratic candidate. Hoppin's vote for Governor was 
11,130, and Potter's only 2,729. The Know Nothing candidates for 
the other offices were all elected by more than two-thirds of the popular 
vote over both competitors. The relative strength of the three parties 
on the vote for Lieutenant-Governor was as follows : Know Nothing, 
9,733 ; Democratic, 2,705 ; Whig, 1,309. The new party elected nearly 
all of the members of both houses of the general assembly. 

Laws were passed in 1855 to prevent the issuance of free passes by 
railroads and regulating the management of the roads in their public 
relations ; regulating the business of foreign insurance companies 
operating in Rhode Island; for the more effectual suppression of 
gambling houses and games of chance ; providing for the taking a new 
valuation of the ratable property of the state ; providing for the better 
and more effective assessment and collection of taxes ; authorizing the 
city of Providence to establish a sinking fund ; and raising the salary 
of the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor to $1,000 and $500 respec- 
tively. 

In the house, March 1, 1855, Mr. Borden, AVhig, of Tiverton, pro- 
posed two amendments to the constitution, the first to allow the general 
assembly to regulate the compensation of its members, and the second 
to abolish the registry tax and substitute a poll tax. Both propositions 
failed to secure the necessary constitutional majority, the vote upon 
them being 33 to 16 for the firet and 33 to 15 for the second proposi- 
tion. 

At the January session in 1856 four proposed articles of amendment 
to the constitution, proposed by Senators William A. Pirce of Johns- 
ton and Denison of Westerly, both American-Republicans, Avere adopt- 
ed by both houses, and a fifth — instituting an educational qualifica- 
tion for voters — was rejected. The proposed amendments were: (1) 
Abolishing the registry tax; (2) assessing a poll tax; (3) requiring a 
residence of twenty-one years in this country of naturalized voters ; 
(4) fixing the compensation of assemblymen at $2 a day. The next 
assembly, in the June following, accepted all of the propositions but 
the third. The remaining three propositions were submitted to the 
people on the day of the presidential election, and were all defeated, 
none of them receiving even a majority. 

The important legislation of 1856 consisted of an act creating a state 
auditor ; an act concerning truant children ; a new militia law, provid- 
ing for the holding of an annual muster ; an amendment to the prohib- 
itory liquor law, allowing the appointment in each municipality of 
persons to sell intoxicating liquors for chemical, sacramental and 
culinary uses, as well as for medicinal and mechanical purposes ; an 
amendment to the marriage laws, dispensing with the former require- 
ment for the publication of the banns in religious meetings; and an 



From the Dorr "War to the Civil AYar. 367 

act dividing the town of Tiverton and incorporating the northern 
portion as the town of Fall River/ 

The general assembly expressed its opinion of national matters this 
year by appropriate resolutions regarding "Bleeding Kansas," and 
Brooks's dastardly assault upon Sumner. At a public meeting, called 
in Providence, to voice popular indignation against the latter act, 
Charles S. Bradley and other leading Democrats made speeches ex- 
pressing their condemnation of club arguments, but they were not able 
to prevent many of the rank and file of their party from going over to 
the new anti-slavery party.- 

The Know Nothings, now known as the American party, renomi- 
nated Governor Hoppin, with Nicholas Brown of Warwick for Lieu- 
tenant-Governor. The Democratic candidates were Americus V. 
Potter and Duncan C. Pell of Newport. The Whigs were no longer in 
existence, but some of the remnant of that party together with certain 
Free Soilers and anti-slavery Democrats, who were opposed to the 
Know Nothings, formed a straight Republican organization and nomi- 
nated Sylvester Robinson of South Kingstown for Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor. Hoppin, who Avas endorsed by the Republicans, received 9,865 
votes to 7,131 for Potter. The totals of the three parties, as shown by 
the vote for Lieutenant-Governor, were : American, 7,882 ; Demo- 
cratic, 7,227 ; Republican, 1,306. 

In the presidential campaign of 1856 most of the Americans joined 
the straight Republicans in supporting Fremont, although several 
influential members of the party— among whom may be mentioned 
Henry Y. Cranston, Charles C. Van Zandt, and ex-Governor William 
Sprague— favored Fillmore. The vote of the state was: Fremont, 
11,467 ; Buchanan, 6,680 ; Fillmore, 1,675. 

The "American Republicans" and the Republicans united on a 
state ticket, except for Lieutenant-Governor, in 1857. They renomi- 
nated Governor Hoppin, and upon his declining named Elisha Dyer 
for first place. The Republicans' nominated Thomas G. Turner of 
Warren for Lieutenant-Governor, while the American Republicans 
selected Stephen G. Mason of Smithfield for the position. Americus 
V. Potter and Isaac Hall of North Kingstown were the Democratic 
candidates; Dyer and the coalition ticket were elected by large major- 
ities. Dyer's vote being 9,591, and Potter's, 5,323. There was no 
choice for Lieutenant-Governor. The Republican vote was 5,781, the 
Democratic, 5,126, and the American Republican, 3,816. Turner was 
elected by the general assembly. The Americans and Republicans 
united upon congressional candidates, Nathaniel B. Durfee being nom- 

'This year was the first in whicli a regular appropriation bill to cover the 
estimated expenses of the state government was passed . 

^ The proceedings of this meeting were printed, under the title of The Outrage 
in the Senate. 



3G8 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

inated for re-election in the eastern district, while William D. Brayton 
of Warwick was their candidate in the other district. The Democratic 
candidates in the two districts were respectively Ambrose E. Burnside 
of Bristol and ex-Governor Jackson, then a resident of Scituate. 
Durfee was elected by a majority of 3,467, and Brayton by 632. On 
January 9, 1857, James F. Simmons was elected to the United States 
senate to succeed Senator James. He received 63 votes in grand com- 
mittee. The Democrats supported ex-Governor Jackson, who received 
21 votes. 

The somewhat discordant elements in the composition of the Amer- 
ican Republican coalition were brought to view in the mayoralty 
election in Providence in 1857. Stephen T. Olney was the nominee of 
the caucus, after several ballots, in which young Thomas A. Doyle was 
his leading competitor. There were some charges of unfairness, and, 
according to the Democratic organ, the Post, which delighted to expose 
the troubles of its opponents, the question of locality was a factor in the 
case, the westsiders believing that the eastsiders were monopolizing too 
many of the offices, Mr. Doyle, who lived on the west side, ran as an 
independent and prevented an election. A choice was not effected 
until the fifth trial, when AA^illiam M. Rodman, the American Repub- 
lican candidate, had a clear field against John N. Francis, the Demo- 
cratic nominee. The fact that the Democratic vote increased in the 
course of this factional contest from 556 to 1,771 showed that there was 
a large element professing the principles of the Democratic party in 
the city, notwithstanding the smallness of the party vote in recent 
years. 

A large portion of the legislative sessions in 1857 were consumed in 
the revision of the laws. In considering the criminal code the house 
voted to make murder punishable by death in all cases, but the change 
was rejected by the senate, the vote standing 12 to 14. Real estate 
was made liable for debts ; grog shops and houses of ill-repute were to 
be proceeded against as common nuisances, unless abated within five 
days after complaint should be made against them ; and the provision 
in the statute law, making drunkenness punishable as an offense, was 
stricken out. A motion by Mr. Knowles of Providence in the house 
to give widows with children one-half of their husbands' personal 
estate, and all of it where they were childless, was rejected. An act 
chartering the Woonasquatucket Railroad company, incorporated this 
year, contained the same phraseology regarding toll houses, toll gates, 
and the like, which was in evidence in the first railroad charter in 1832, 
and which was inherited from the old turnpike and plank-road 
charters. 

The panic of 1857 was for a short time very seriously felt in Rhode 
Island. Towards the close of the year the Providence Journal pub- 



From the Dorr War to the Civil War. 369 

lishecl long lists of the factories in and near Providence which were 
closed or were running on short time. Its statements showed that, 
about Christmas time, at least three-fourths of the machinery of the 
cotton factories was idle. 

Representative C4eorge L. Clarke of Providence introduced a bill at 
the January session in 1858, to restrict the amount of bank issues and 
reciuire banks to make weekly reports. As finally adopted the act 
required banks to make detailed reports of their condition semi- 
annually, and to report their general condition to the secretary of state 
for publication in Providence newspapers fortnightly. Banks were 
forbidden, under severe penalties, to charge directly or indirectly more 
than six per cent, annual interest. An act was passed providing that 
no railroad should be allowed to lay rails through any Providence 
streets until consent thereto had been given by vote of the property 
electors of the city. Acts were passed for the better enforcement of 
sanitary measures and for the prevention of the spreading of infec- 
tious and contagious diseases in the cities of Providence and Newport. 
A committee w^as appointed to make inquiry and report on the feasi- 
bility of erecting a new State House at Providence. The Republican 
legislature of 1854 had hurriedly repealed the act passed by the Demo- 
crats the year before, authorizing the election of aldermen in the city 
of Providence by wards, instead of on a general ticket. The act then 
repealed was re-enacted by the Republicans this year, with the added 
provision that both aldermen and councilmen should be elected by a 
plurality vote. The Providence city charter was also amended — in 
accordance with the result of a popular vote of the city, asking for 
such action— so as to provide for the election of the city clerk, city 
treasurer, assessors of taxes, city solicitor, collector of taxes, city mar- 
shal, harbor master, overseer of the poor and superintendent of health 
by popular vote. A resolution presented by Representative Ellis L, 
Blake of Cumberland to abolish separate schools in Providence for 
colored children, failed of passage. The proposition had been brought 
forward at nearly every regular session for several years, but public 
opinion did not yet demand the change. 

The American Republicans and straight Republicans held separate 
conventions in 1858. but finally ran a coalition ticket which was elected 
with little opposition. They renominated the ticket of the year before 
with the exception of the candidate for attorney-general, for which 
office Jerome B. Kimball of Providence was named in place of Charles 
Hart, who had resigiied the office in January, 1858. The Democrats 
nominated Alexander Duncan, a wealthy landholder of Providence, 
but he declined and Elisha R. Potter Avas nominated in his place, with 
Ariel Ballon as the candidate for Lieutenant-Governor. Dyer received 
7,934 and Potter 3,572 votes. On May 28, 1858, ex-Governor Henry 
24-1 



370 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

B. Anthony was elected to the United States senate, receiving 92 out of 
100 votes. George H. Browne, the Democratic candidate, had seven 
votes, and Elisha Dyer one. The Republicans and Americans clashed 
over the legislative ticket in Providence, and it required eight elections 
to elect a full quota of officers. The Democratic state convention gave 
a qualified endorsement to the Lecompton (Kansas) constitution in its 
resolutions this year. A short time before the convention met a resolu- 
tion instructing and requesting Rhode Island Congressmen to oppose 
the admission of Kansas under that constitution — a resolution intro- 
duced by Senator Alfred Anthony of Johnston, a Douglas Democrat — 
passed both houses of the general assembly without opposition. 

Lieutenant-Governor Turner was nominated by the American Re- 
publicans and the Republicans for Governor in 1859 and the two con- 
ventions agreed upon the same candidates for secretary of state and 
attorney-general. They made separate nominations for Lieutenant- • 
Governor and general treasurer, the American Republicans naming 'j 
Isaac Saunders of Scituate for the former office, while the Republicans 
named Thomas J. Hill of Warwick. Saunders received 5,570, Hill 
3,317, and Fenner Brown, Democrat, 3,351 votes. Saunders and 
Samuel A. Parker, the American Republican candidate for general 
treasurer, were elected by the general assembly. Turner's majority 
for Governor was 5,378, Elisha R. Potter being the opposing candi- 
date. Jerome B. Kimball, the coalition candidate for attorney-gen- 
eral, was elected by a majority of 4,430 votes. As it was shown, how- 
ever, that he was not a qualified voter on the day of the state election, 
the grand committee decided that there was no election, and elected 
Charles Hart, one of the candidates who ran against him. Mr. Hart 
accepted the office, qualified and immediately resigned. Mr. Kimball 
was then elected by the general assembly to the office for which he was 
chosen by the people. William D. Brayton was re-elected to Congress 
in the western district by 1,349 majority over Alfred Anthony, Demo- 
crat. In the eastern district there was no choice on the first trial, ; 
Christopher Robinson, American Republican, receiving 3,846 ; Thomas 
Davis, Republican, 2,450 ; Olney Arnold, Democrat, 1,507. A second 
election was held in June, when, Mr. Arnold having \^athdrawn, ]\Ir. 
Robinson was elected. 

The mechanics' lien law was amended by making vessels as well as 
real estate and chattels attachable for labor and material in their con- 
struction and repair. Representatives William Sanford of Providence 
and Sullivan Ballou of Smithfield, both American Republicans, intro- 
duced resolutions, respectively, at the January session, for the appoint- 
ment of a joint committee to consider the subject of amending the 
constitution, and for a constitutional convention. A joint special com- 
mittee was appointed to consider and report what if any amendments 
might be submitted to the people in April. There is no record of any 



From the Dorr War to the Civil War. 371 

report having been made. Mr. Sheffield of Newport introduced a bill 
in the house, which did not pass, to allow persons imprisoned for debt 
on actions for trover, to take the poor debtor 's oath, after having been 
imprisoned for ninety days. A good deal of ill-feeling was exhibited 
in the assembly over the case of Ives against Hazard,^ which had been 
decided in favor of the plaintiff some years before. The defendant, 
Charles T. Hazard, petitioned for a rehearing, and a resolution revers- 
ing the decision of the Supreme Court was finally laid on the table by a 
vote of 36 to 31. The chief justice of the Supreme Court, Samuel 
Ames, w^as also the reporter of the decisions of the court, and he was 
openly charged in the assembly and in the public press with having 
unfairly reported the case. He asked for an investigation, and a joint 
special committee, of which Speaker Van Zandt— the leader in the 
house of the attack on the Supreme Court— was chairman, made a 
report, declaring that the chief justice had not compiled the report 
"in such a manner as to subject him to the censure of this house." 
This celebrated case brought up the question of the constitutional right 
of the general assembly to reverse a decision of the Supreme Court. 
' While the assembly was unquestionably the court of last resort under 
the charter, a majority of the legal talent in the assembly as well as of 
the other members of the Rhode Island bar, contended that the judicial 
) functions of the assembly had been surrendered in framing the consti- 
' tution. The Supreme Court was asked for its opinion upon the 

■ question, and it denied the right of the assembly to pass upon court 
decisions. 

The John Brown raid, toward the close of the year 1859, caused 
great excitement in Rhode Island as elsewhere. Public meetings were 
held, and in some cases speeches of radical anti-slavery men were 
' almost incendiary in character ; but many of the Republicans feared 
the effect of the John Brown act, and of its endorsement at the North, 
upon the South, and were ready to unite with the Democrats in a con- 

■ stitutional union movement. Meetings were held wath this view early 
I in 1860. The Republicans held their convention January 4, 1860, and 
I nominated Seth Padelford of Providence for Governor and Stephen 

N. Mason of Smithfield for Lieutenant-Governor. The nomination of 
Padelford was unsatisfactory to many Republicans, because of his 

■ supposed radicalism, and a convention of the "bolters" held in Provi- 
. dence on February 1, nominated Colonel William Sprague of Warwick 

i 

J From the testimony it appeared that Charles T. Hazard of Newport had 
been deputed to purchase certain real estate in that city at a stipulated price by 
Robert H. Ives of Providence ; that he bought it for himself and agreed to sell 
it to Ives at about 50 per cent, advance, and afterwards pleaded his wife's re- 
fusal to sign the deed ; that Ives, holding his written promise, insisted upon his 
keeping his agreement, and brought a suit in equity, which the Supreme Court 
decided in his favor. The numerous pamphlets relating to this case are listed in 
Bartlett's Bibliography of R. I., p. 162. 



372 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

for Governor, and endorsed the other nominees of the regular conven- 
tion. Later in the month the Democratic state convention and a 
Young Men's convention met at Providence on the same day and 
nominated a "Union" ticket with Sprague for Governor, J. Russell 
Bullock of Bristol for Lieutenant-Governor, Walter Burges for attor- 
ney-general, and Bartlett and Parker, who had already held their 
offices for several years, for secretary of state and general treasurer. 
The combination was too strong for the Republicans, and the whole 
union ticket was elected, Sprague 's vote being 12,278, and Padelford's 
10,740. The Democrats and Union Conservatives elected a majority 
of both houses of the general assembly, including all of the Providence 
assemblymen. Sprague had large majorities in both Providence and 
Newport. 

An interesting incident of this campaign was a campaign speech by 
Abraham Lincoln in Providence on March 30. He was not then looked 
upon as a probable candidate for President, but his speech was an able 
and impressive one, and attracted unusual attention, both in the Jour- 
nal and the opposition press. Later in the year, on August 1, Senator 
Douglas, then a nominee for President, partook of clams and addressed 
an admiring throng of 10,000 people at Rocky Point. The day before 
he spent in Providence, where he was given a flattering reception by 
all parties. When the voters reached the ballot box, however, in 
November, the state went for Lincoln by a vote of 12,244 to 7,707 for 
Douglas. 

In the senate, February 21, 1860, ]\Ir. Burges, Democrat, of Cran- 
ston, in behalf of a joint special committee, reported four pro- 
posed constitutional amendments. They were : to repeal the registry 
tax and substitute a poll tax; to provide a regular salary for members 
of the general assembly, subject to deductions for non-attendance ; to 
relieve the Governor from presiding in the senate and make the 
Lieutenant-Governor its presiding officer; and declaring that the 
general assembly continues to exercise the same power of granting new 
trials and rehearings that it possessed before the adoption of the con- 
stitution. The propositions were all rejected by the senate. 

Acts were passed in 1860 to prevent the introduction of infectious 
and contagious disease among neat cattle ; and submitting the ques- 
tion of the erection of a new State House to popular vote. The pro- 
posal was to erect a new structure in Providence at a cost of not more 
than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The proposition was 
overwhelmingly defeated, nearly every town outside of Providence, 
voting against it. An act for the abolition of colored schools in Provi- 
dence was defeated in the house at the January session, by four major- 
ity. At the same session, Charles T. Hazard, tlie complaining litigant 
in the famous Ives vs. Hazard case, was given leave to withdraw by a 
vote of 35 to 28 in the house. Mr. Van Zandt, who had strongly 



374 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

championed the petitioner's cause the previous year, favored the 
motion, declaring that he had been grossly deceived in the case. A 
proposed amendment to the laws governing the courts, by which the 
reportership was to be separated from the office of chief justice, was 
defeated in the house by a decisive vote. 

The boundary dispute with Massachusetts, the mention of which 
carries us back to colonial days, was now in a fair way of settlement. 
For some twenty years or more proceedings in equity had been pending 
in the Supreme Court of the United States, during which time the 
state had from time to time employed some of its best legal talent to 
look after its interests. An agreement for an adjustment of the 
boundary was now made by the assembly in March, 1860, and was 
acceded to by Massachusetts in the following month. The change was 
consummated on March 1, 1862. The practical result was the cession 
of the town of Fall River, Rhode Island, to Massachusetts, in exchange 
for the greater portion of the town of Pawtucket, Massachusetts, and 
the western part of the town of Seekonk, in that state, which after its 
annexation became the town of East Providence. The inhabitants of 
the several towns subjected to the proposed transfer were generally in 
favor of the change.^ Further action was taken regarding the bound- 
ary at the January session in 1861, as considerable legislation Avas 
required to adjust legal conditions in the annexed portions to Rhode 
Island laws. 

The assembly at this session restored the charter of the "Grand Lodge 
of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations, ' ' which had been surrendered to the state 
in 1834. The first charters for horse railroads Avere granted at this 
session. They were for a road from Central Falls through Pawtucket 
to Providence, and two lines from Olneyville to Providence, by the way 
of Broadway and High streets, respectively. According to the census 
of 1860, Providence had 50,666 inhabitants. Smithfield had increased 
to 13,283, and Newport to 10,508. The great gains of North Provi- 
dence from 7,680 to 11,818, and of Cranston from 4,311 to 7,500 were 
chiefly due to their proximity to Providence. 

^ A singular circumstance connected with this boundary settlement was the 
apparant unfamiliarity with local geography sliown by the boundary committee 
which rendered a report at the January session in 1860. In giving a detailed ac- 
count of the accessions to or excisions from the various towns on the border in the 
adjustment of the line, no reference whatever was made to the town of Paw- 
tucket, wliich it w^as jiroposed to transfer almost bodily to Rhode Island. The 
committee speak of the proposed a cessions of territory "from tlie towns of 
Westport, Swanzey and Seekonk." The Massachusetts town of Pawtucket was 
severed from Seekonk in 1828, and had been a separate town for thirty-two 
years when this report was made, but the committee had presumably taken its 
bearings from old surveys, and they evidently considered the term ' ' Paw- 
tucket " as only expressive of large twin villages in the towns of North Provi- 
dence, Rhode Island, and Seekonk, Massachusetts, separated from each other by 
the Seekonk river. 



The Last Four Decades. 375 

The Kepublicans made a great effort to defeat the coalition against 
them in 1861. They nominated James Y. Smith of Providence for 
Governor, Simon Henry Greene of AVarwick for Lieutenant-Governor, 
and Sullivan Ballou of Smithfield for attorney-general. The Demo- 
crats and Constitutional Unionists renominated Sprague and Burges 
and nominated Samuel G. Arnold of Middletown for Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor. The coalition candidates were elected by majorities of from 1,506 
to 1,661. The vote for Governor was Sprague, 12,005 ; Smith, 10,326. 
William P. Shetfield and George H. Browne, the coalition candidates 
for Congress, were elected by moderate majorities over Christopher 
Robinson and William D. Brayton respectively. 

The representation of the several towns in the house of represen- 
tatives was reapportioned at the January session in 1861, the step hav- 
ing become necessary in consequence of the changes of population, as 
shoAvn by the census of 1860. North Providence, Cranston, Westerly 
and Fall River each gained a member, AA^arren, North Kingston and 
Glocester each lost one, and Tiverton lost two.^ 



CHAPTER XXII. 
THE LAST FOUR DECADES. 

The part that the state of Rhode Island took in the suppression of 
the Rebellion of 1861 was alike creditable to her citizens and to her 
public men then in positions of authority. No half-hearted measures 
were pursued, but a quick response was made to all demands for troops 
or money. An active patriotism animated the people, which found 
vent in the rapid equipment of regiment after regiment, until in the 
end it was found that the state had sent into the field more than her 
quota of troops. 

A peace convention was held at Washington from February 4 to 
February 27, at which ex-President John Tyler presided, and twenty- 
one states represented. The Rhode Island delegates were Samuel 
Ames, Alexander Duncan, AVilliam AA". Hoppin, George H. Browne, and 
Samuel G. Arnold. In the interests of peace a compromise was adopt- 
ed and presented to Congress, but no action was taken by the national 
legislature. The northern delegates to this convention willingly voted 

^Tiverton, which had three members by the appoi'tionment of 1851, owed its 
third member to a large fraction. When a portion of the town was set off, in 
1856, and made the town of Fall River, each town was given one member, and 
the third one was not apportioned to any town. 



376 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

for concessions that they were opposed to, because by so doing they 
desired to avoid the greater evils of disunion and war. They thus 
illustrated the conservative and fair dealing attitude of mind that 
animated them, and which was general at the north. 

While these efforts at conciliation were in progress many rumors 
were current of contemplated attempts to seize Washington in the 
interest of the southern states. Governor William Sprague, in view of 
the danger of such an attack, offered to President Buchanan the use of 
the Rhode Island militia to defend the capital, but the President 
refused to accept this aid. The Rhode Island secretary of state, John 
R. Bartlett, made substantially the same offer early in January, 1861, 
in a letter to the secretary of war, but no response was received to this 
letter. In accordance with a letter of instructions from Governor 
Sprague, dated January 24, 1861, Major William Goddard, accompan- 
ied by Senator Henry B. Anthony, called upon General Scott, then 
commander-in-chief of the army of the United States, and offered the 
services of the entire body of the Rhode Island militia "to aid in pro- 
tecting the constitution and laws, ' ' with the assurance that they could 
be at once sent on to Washington. General Scott evidently would 
have been glad to avail himself of this offer, but could not do so 
without being instructed by the President and the secretary of war. 
As this authority was not forthcoming, the project fell through. This 
affair, however, illustrated the willing patriotism of the Rhode Island 
men, and the harmony that prevailed among them on this great ques- 
tion of the preservation of the nation. 

With the election of Abraham Lincoln as President, November 7, 
1860, the rebellion of the southern states may be said to have begun, 
as the work of organizing the Confederacy assumed definite shape 
from that day. One after the other, the southern states passed ordi- 
nances of secession, and proceeded to raise and arm troops. All prop- 
erty, arms and munitions of war within their limits, belonging to the 
United States, were seized and appropriated to the use of the rebels. 
Jefferson Davis was inaugurated President of the Confederate States 
of America, February 18, 1861, and three days later General Twiggs of 
the United States army surrendered 6,000 men and $1,200,000 worth 
of property to the state of Texas. The Civil War, however, did not 
actually begin until after the inauguration of President Lincoln. 
Notwithstanding the action of the southern states in organizing an 
independent government, there was a feeling at the north that perhaps 
after all some way might be found of patching up the difficulty without 
coming into actual conflict. This idea was rudely dispelled by the 
attack on Fort Sumter, April 12, by General Beauregard, and its 
surrender after a gallant resistance by Major Anderson, two days later. 
This event created wide spread indignation in the north and convinced 
the northern people that war was inevitable. 



The Last Four Decades. 3? 7 

The day after the surrender of Fort Sumter, April 15, President 
Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 men to volunteer for 
three months, in which time it was thought that the rebellion could be 
stamped out. The President had previously announced his determi- 
nation to maintain the Union at all hazards. This attitude on his part 
inspired the people of the north with confidence, while the attack on 
Fort Sumter proved that energetic and prompt action was necessary if 
the President was to be sustained. The response to the call of the 
President for men was immediate and spontaneous in all the northern 
states, and Rhode Island was in the forefront in equipping and for- 
warding troops. 

On April 16, the day after the President's proclamation, Governor 
Sprague issued an order for the organization of the First Regiment 
of Infantry. This was accomplished so promptly that on April 20 the 
first detachment left Providence under command of Colonel Ambrose 
E. Burnside, and the second on April 24, under command of Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Joseph S. Pitman. The scenes and incidents of the organ- 
ization of this regiment are thus graphically described by a local 
writer : 

' ' The streets of Providence now resounded with the tramp of armed 
men and the notes of martial music. The vestrys of the churches, 
halls and private dwellings were filled with women at work upon the 
outfit of the soldiers. The country towns vied with Providence and 
Newport in the good work. Twenty-five hundred men volunteered 
for service in this regiment, and the fifteen hundred not allowed to 
depart in it felt as if they had met a personal loss. The regiment was 
selected from this array of volunteers as follows: Six companies 
from Providence, one from Newport, one from Pawtucket, one from 
Westerly, and one from Woonsocket. " 

Great credit is given Governor Sprague for his course during the 
early days of the war, not only for the energy he displayed in raising 
and equipping troops, but also for the great financial assistance he 
furnished at the same time. Much money was needed, and the state 
was not in a position to provide it immediately. The firm of A. & W. 
Sprague at once offered to guarantee the payment of all accounts for 
equipping the troops, and as the credit of this manufacturing house 
at that time was unlimited, there was no difficulty under such circum- 
stances in organizing regiments and securing all the necessary 
supplies. 

Governor "William Sprague was untiring in his efforts to secure 
troops, and his zeal and enthusiasm contributed largely to the success 
that was attained in filling the Rhode Island regiments. He resigned 
as Governor to take his seat as senator from Rhode Island in the 
United States Congress, INIarch 3, 1863, and his unexpired term as 
Governor was completed by William C. Cozzens, who held the office 



378 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

from March 3 to May. James Y. Smith was then elected and held 
that office until 1866. Governors Spragne and Smith were conse- 
quently the war governors of the state. During Governor Sprague's 
term the troops went to the front, while during Governor Smith's 
incumbency recruiting went on to keep the regiments up to their war 
footing, and the executive had also much to do with regard' to ques- 
tions of accounts, details of administration and the straightening out 
of various financial tangles. 

Rhode Island was subjected to its most trying test of patriotism in 
the great struggle between the states, during the last two years of the 
Civil War, when James Y. Smith was Governor. The war was at its 
height. Call after call for troops followed in rapid succession, and 
drafts were ordered in most if not all of the loyal states. The demand 
for men by the government was continuous and imperative, but Rhode 
Island had had all the experience with a draft its people desired, and 
its Chief Executive, sharing the general feeling, determined that all 
calls should be filled by voluntary and not by enforced service. As 
the calls already made had taken off from her soil the major portion 
of its real fighting material, who by their bravery and devotion were 
winning a golden opinion for the state, the task of avoiding a second 
draft was arduous if not well nigh impossible. Herculean as the 
labor was, however, it was accomplished at last, but not Avithout the 
expenditure of large sums of money for bounties, recruiting agents, 
and other expenses, which were cheerfully voted, for money was as 
nothing in those days compared with the apprehension of enforced 
military service. 

Political excitement ran high at that time, and these heavy expendi- 
tures awakened criticism of and reflection upon the Governor in un- 
friendly quarters. A legislative committee to investigate reported, 
to use their own words, "that they do not believe that he (the Gov- 
ernor) has intentionally done anything wrong in the recruiting busi- 
ness, or that he has directly or indirectly profited therefrom," while 
the popular verdict was rendered at the next annual election when he 
received a majority in every town and ward in the state, a case rarely 
if ever paralleled in the annals of the state. 

This interesting episode in our history is thus summarized, the day 
after Governor Smith's death, by the Providence Journal, which was 
politically opposed to him during his life : 

"From 1863 to 1865-6, inclusive, he served the state with ability, 
fidelity and patriotism as its Chief Magistrate. The period covered 
by this service was a very trying one, from the fact that it was the 
most gloomy period in the history of the Civil War. The quota re- 
quired from this state, under the several calls for troops, amounted 
during Governor Smith's administration to above thirteen thousand 
five hundred men. The people of the state were adverse to a draft, 



The Last Four Decades. 379 

and this whole number of men were secured by voluntary enlistment, 
but necessarily at a great cost in the way of bounties and services of 
recruiting agents. In the strife which political excitement engenders, 
it is not strange that with so many conflicting and adversary interests 
to reconcile or to contend against, Governor Smith did not altogether 
escape the shafts of partisan censure and attack, but the sober judg- 
ment of the people in reviewing his administration will accord to him 
an honest and sincere desire to uphold the honor and patriotism of the 
state." 

A branch of the United States Sanitary Commission was established 
in Providence, October, 1861, and it did good service in collecting and 
forwarding medicines and supplies. The Providence Ladies' Volun- 
teer Relief Association made and forwarded garments and clothing, 
and many of the women of the city were actively engaged in the work 
of this organization, which accomplished a great deal of good. In the 
spring of 1863 this society became known as the Rhode Island Relief 
Association, and worked as auxiliary to the Sanitary Commission. 
Various other associations with similar objects existed in Providence 
and in every town in the state, and they all performed noble work. 

Rhode Island sent into the field during the rebellion 2-4,042 men, 
including 10,382 infantry, 4,394 cavalry, 5,642 heavy artillery, 2,977 
light artillery, and 645 men for the navy. These figures, however, 
include re-enlistments, and the actual quota has been given as 23,778. 
Of these 10,440 enlisted during Governor Sprague's administration, 
and 13,338 while Governor Smith was in office. The casualties were : 
255 killed, 1,265 died of wounds or disease, and 1,249 were wounded. 
Eight regiments of infantry were enlisted, three for three months, 
two for nine months, and three for three years; three regiments of 
cavalry for three years, and one squadron for three months; three 
regiments of heavy artillery and one regiment of light artillery for 
three years, two light batteries for three months, and a company of 
infantry as hospital guards. 

The total expenditure of the state of Rhode Island and of the cities 
and towns on account of the war, amounted to $6,500,000. Of this 
amount the United States government refunded $933,195.45 ; the cities 
and towns spent directly, for which they were not reimbursed, $1,156,- 
589.86 ; and the state spent directly $3,610,000, in addition to reim- 
bursing the towns and cities to the amount of $465,690, thus making 
the total state expenditure .$4,075,690, exclusive of claims against the 
United States of $335,287.74. Considerably more than half of the 
expenditures of the cities and towns, $820,768.80 was for bounties.^ 

These facts in regard to the men sent out and the money spent dem- 
onstrate that the Rhode Island people manifested a vigorous and self- 
sacrificing patriotism, which is worthy of all praise and honor. The 

' Adjutant- General' 8 Report for 1865, pp. 8-9. 



380 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

scandals in regard to the bounty frauds and the financial irregularities 
in the accounts were due to the crimes or errors of a few men, whose 
actions, while lamentable, are such an inconsiderable part of the whole 
record that by contrast the magnificent attitude of the people and the 
state stand out in clear relief for nobility, honor and self-sacrifice. 

The creation of a large military population brought about certain 
alterations in suffrage conditions, and considerable of the time of the 
assembly during the war was spent in trying to alter the constitution 
to suit these changes. An amendment to the constitution giving nat- 
uralized soldiei-s and sailors in Rhode Island commands equal voting 
rights with the native-born population was passed by the legislature 
in 1862, and for the second time in 1863. When it was submitted to 
the popular vote, it failed to receive the necessary three-fifths vote and 
was rejected. In the following year, the same amendment, coupled 
with two others — one substituting a poll tax for the registry tax. and 
the other allowing citizen soldiers in the field to vote — passed the 
assembly. When submitted to the people, only the last one of the 
three was accepted, which was accordingly entered as the 
4th amendment. The most important matter outside of war 
measures during tha period was the settlement of the boundary agree- 
ment with Massachusetts, whereby Pawtucket and East Providence 
were turned over to the state, and the new town of Fall River was 
surrendered to Massachusetts. 

Immediately succeeding the period of the war there was the attempt 
made to extend the elective franchise to naturalized citizens of Rhode 
Island who were excluded by the constitution of 1843. According to 
this instrument, a citizen of foreign birth, even although he had com- 
plied with all the requirements of the United States naturalization 
laws, could not vote unless he possessed a freehold. Those who de- 
sired a change in the Rhode Island constitution to offset this disqualifi- 
cation asserted that "the naturalization laws of the United States are, 
within the State of Rhode Island, nullified, and the whole political 
power of the state vested in the native population, while the natural- 
ized citizens, who have renounced all claim to the protection of the 
country of their origin, and either are, or are entitled to be citizens of 
the United States, are rendered, unless in exceptional cases, utterly 
alien to the institutions of their adopted country".^ In 1867 and 
1868 attempts were made to remove these restrictions by framing a 
new constitution, petitions being headed by Governor Burnside in 
behalf of naturalized veterans, and by Mayor Doyle for naturalized 

^C. E. Gorman's Elective Francliise, p. 21. The judiciary committee of the 
U. S. senate had decided that R. I.'s property qualification clause was not in 
conflict with the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. (See H. B. Anthony, 
Drfcnse of li. L, p. 10 j. 



The Last Four Decades. 381 

citizens. Although the house did pass these proposals as amendments 
to the constitution, the senate rejected them and the attempt failed. 

During the administration of Seth Padelford, who succeeded Burn- 
side in 1869 and was governor for four years, similar bills were intro- 
duced providing for a constitutional convention, but failed of passage. 
The legislature was not quite ready for such an abrupt move, although 
it did show its favor to the proposed changes in the form of amend- 
ments to the constitution. Thus in 1871, the assembly voted to submit 
to the people the following amendments : That the property qualifi- 
cation clause should be repealed so far as related to foreign-born citi- 
zens, that the registry tax should be repealed and that state appropria- 
tion for sectarian purposes should be prohibited.^ These all failed to 
receive the necessary three-fifths vote of the people, the third amend- 
ment -alone obtaining even a majority. 

During the last two years of Padelford 's administration and that of 
Governor Henry Howard, who succeeded him in 1873 and 1874, several 
boundary questions of a local nature were settled. In March, 1871, the 
large town of Smithfield, which comprised the whole northeastern 
quarter of Providence county, was divided. A portion was set off to 
Woonsocket, while the remainder was split up into three towns^ 
Smithfield, North Smithfield and Lincoln. In 1873 a portion of 
Cranston was annexed to Providence and formed into a public park, 
now known as Roger Williams Park.- In the following year North 
Providence was divided into three portions, a part being annexed to 
Providence, another part being joined to Pawtucket, while the third 
and smallest portion retained the town name. It was also proposed 
that a portion of the town of Johnston should be annexed to Provi- 
dence, but the Johnston taxpayers, by a small majority, voted against 
the scheme. 

Governor Howard was succeeded in 1875 by Henry Lippitt, who 
headed the administration for two years and was followed in 1877 by 
Charles C. Van Zandt. Attempts to change certain provisions in the 
constitution during this period were frequent, although generally 
unsuccessful. In 1873 a motion to introduce a woman's suffrage 
amendment failed, as did a conditional motion of a similar nature, 
championed by Amasa M. Eaton in the following year. This same 
subject, as well as that of the registry tax, was often introduced, but 
nothing effectual was accomplished. In 1876, after considerable dis- 
cussion in the assembly, three articles of amendment were passed and 
submitted to the people in December. They were the repeal of the 

^ Jannary schedule, 1871, p. 204. 

-Another portion of Cranston had previously been annexed to Providence in 
1868. The park property had come from the bequest of Betsey Williams, who 
left the land for tlie purpose at her death, November 27, 1871. In 1872 the as- 
sembly authorized the city to establish a public park. 




m^TT 




The Last Four DeCxVdes. 383 

clause in the constitution regarding corporations, the repeal of the 
registry tax, and the enfranchising of the foreign-born soldiers and 
sailors on the same terms as native-born citizens. These all failed to 
receive the necessary three-fifths vote. Governor Lippitt, in referring 
to the matter said : "Our people are very conservative, and justly so, 
in their action on any amendments to the constitution, but these 
amendments had been carefully considered by the legislature, and I 
think were worthy of a vote of approval. That relating to the regis- 
try tax particularly, if it had been adopted, would have enabled the 
legislature, to provide for a tax in some other form, and thereby re- 
move from our state politics a source of corruption which has in- 
creased wonderfully of late years. "^ 

The year 1876 was a memorable one in the history of the country as 
being the centennial of the nation's birth. Rhode Island's share in 
the great exhibition at Philadelphia was a notable one. Her indus- 
tries and products were very generally represented, and notwith- 
standing her small size, only seven other states entered larger applica- 
tions for space. Especially prominent among exhibits was the great 
Corliss engine. This great triumph of mechanical skill, which fur- 
nished all the power required for Machinery Hall, was one of the most 
notable features of the exhibition and reflected great credit on the 
state in which it was invented. The first week in October was known as 
Rhode Island week, when a reception was held in the state building, 
and Rhode Islanders from all over the country gathered to renew old 
ties and form new ones. Both the legislature, through generous 
appropriation, and the citizens, through their exertions, worked hard 
to place Rhode Island in an honorable position by the side of other 
states of a much larger extent.- The year 1876 was also productive of 
a renewed interest in the history of the state covering the centennial 
celebrations of many important events and causing the publication of 
historical sketches for many of the towns. 

Governor Van Zandt, whose administration began in 1877, Avas suc- 
ceeded by Alfred H. Littlefield, 1880-83, Augustus 0. Bourn, 1883-85, 
and George P. Wetmore, 1885-87. In this decade the attempts to alter 
the constitution were chiefly in regard to the introduction of woman's 
suffrage, the repeal of the registry tax, the prohibition of liquor, and 
the extension of the franchise to naturalized citizens who served in the 
Union army or navy during the Civil War. Only the last two propo- 
sitions met with favor. Liquor legislation had often been a subject of 
discussion before the assembly. Although a sort of prohibitory law 
had been tried for a short period, the state had been under some form 
of license for practically its whole existence. There had been a grow- 

^ Oovernor's Message, 1877, p. 18. 

^ Oovermr's Message, 1877. See Greene's SJtort history of R. I , p. 286, for a list 
of products in which R. I showed conspicuous excellence. 



384 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

ing feeling that the license system had not accomplished the best 
results, and of course absolute lack of any restraint was too dangerous 
a procedure. As one writer said, ''If, then, license is inefficient and 
freedom unwise, we are forced to the conclusion that prohibition at 
least deserves a trial commensurate with the importance of the end to 
be obtained. There has been no such trial in this state as yet, for no 
great moral or social reform can be effected in a few months or in a 
few years. ' '^ With the hope of thus bettering the situation, the legis- 
lature, in 1886, voted to submit to the people the following amend- 
ment : ' ' The manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors to be 
used as a beverage shall be prohibited. The general assembly shall 






Ill Kill fBi 




WWW' m'-imtm V^9 

Hi lilljU 



}?ll( 



i ^ tiff ^Ti 





City Hall, Providence, R. I. 

provide by law for carrying this article into effect." In the April 
election the people sealed their approval of the new system by a vote 
of 15,113 to 9,230. But the prohibitory method proved far from 
satisfactory. The violation and defiance of the law were general, and 
cases were rarely pressed. In January, 1889, the assembly voted that 
the previous prohibitory amendment should be annulled, and in June 
the people concurred in their opinion by a vote of 28,315 to 9,956. A 
special session of the legislature was called in July, when a new license 
law wa.s passed. 

^ J. H. Stiness, R. I legislation against strong drink, 1882, p 48. 



The Last Four Decades. 385 

At the same session of March, 1886, that passed the prohibitory 
amendment, the following amendment was also passed for the second 
time and offered to the approval of the people: "All soldiers and 
sailors of foreign birth, citizens of the United States, who served in 
the army or navy of the United States for this state in the late Civil 
War, and who were honorably discharged from such service, shall have 
the right to vote on all questions in all legally organized town, district 
or ward meetings, upon the same conditions and under and subject to 
the same restrictions as native born citizens." At the election in 
April, it was formally approved by the people by a vote of 18,903 to 
1,477. 

During this decade, from 1877 to 1887, among the acts passed of 
some importance was that abolishing tribal authority and tribal rela- 
tions of the Narragansett Indians. This tribe had been undergoing a 
gradual process of degeneration, and for many years the annual appro- 
priation for the Indian school had proved of no practical benefit. 
Accordingly, on March 31, 1880, all distinctive legislation connected 
with them was repealed, and a few months later the state purchased 
their tribal lands, which were sold at auction.^ 

An important movement, initiated by the harbor commissioners in 
1877, was that of improving the harbor facilities in Narragansett Bay 
and its estuaries. Congress, by 1883, had appropriated $355,000 for 
this purpose, and thereafter made such further appropriations as the 
necessity of the work required. During the process of operations, the 
channel of the bay, and also of the Providence and PaAvtucket rivers, 
was widened and dredged, Newport harbor was deepened, work on the 
Block Island breakwater and harbor was begun, and improvements 
were made in several of the smaller rivers. This aid given to the facili- 
ties for navigation was well placed, and resulted in increased commer- 
cial enterprise. Other important measures of this same period Avere 
the final adjusting of the two boundary questions— the northern line 
with Massachusetts in March, 1883, and the western line with Connec- 
ticut in May, 1887. 

At the January session in 1887 a motion was successfully intro- 
duced, promising the long sought for extension of the sufl:'rage. Sen- 

'See Governor's Message, 1881, p. 31. See also the four reports of the Commis- 
sion of the Affairs of the Narragansett Indians, 1880-85. Nearly 20 years 
after the dissolution of the tribe some of its former members, having been en- 
couraged by the advice of counsel to believe that a demand upon the State 
might be successfully maintained by attacking the act of 1880, dissolving the 
tribe and authorizing the sale of its lands, the opinion of the Judges of the 
Supreme Court of the state was obtained, which opinion, fully considering the 
relations of the tribe to the state from the first settlement of the colony down 
to and including the passage of the act, and the provisions thereof, and pro- 
nouncing the act constitutional in all its parts, is believed to constitute the 
final chapter in the history of the once famous Narragansett Tribe of Indians. 
25-1 



386 State of Rhode Island axd Providexce Plantations. 

ator Bourn of Bristol presented an amendment to the constitution, 
providing for the substitution of a poll-tax for the registry tax, and 
the removal of discriminations against naturalized citizens.^ It again 
passed both houses at a special November session in 1887. and when 
submitted to the people on April 4. 1888, it was adopted by a vote of 
20.068 to 12,193. A ditference of opinion then arose as to the opera- 
tion of this amendment upon the registry laAvs mentioned in Chapter 
VII of the Public Statutes. Upon requisition of the Governor as to 
the subject, the Supreme Court decided that any provisions in the 
constitution conflicting with the amendment were annulled and that 
the present registry law was fully operative.- Thus this long retarded 
act of justice to naturalized citizens, which had been in process of 
development for nearly three-quarters of a century, was brought to 
pass. It was perhaps the most important political change since the 
forming of the new constitution. 

The recent growth of the manufacturing towns in the northern part 
of the state caused many of their inhabitants to desire a change to a 
city form of government. Accordingly, on INIarch 27, 1885, 
the assembly submitted to the people of Pawtucket an act 
of incorporation as a city. On April 1 this was accepted by a vote 
of 1,4:50 to 721, and Pawtucket was created as the third city in the 
state. In like manner, on June 13, 1888, the town of AYoonsocket was 
incorporated by the assembly as a city, which act was accepted by the , 
people of that town on November 6 following. In ]\Iarch, 1888. the 
District of Narragansett was taken from South Kingstown and given 
all the powers of a town, except representation in the general as- 
sembly.^ 

During the years from 1889 to 1893 the requirements of a majority 
instead of a plurality vote seemed frequenth' to defeat the choice of 
the people in their election of a Governor. In 1887 Governor Wet- 
more had been defeated for re-election by John AY. Da^is, the Demo- 
cratic candidate, who in turn was defeated in 1888 by Royal C. Taft, 

'The payment of the registry tax had always been a prerequisite to the 
electoral privileges of the registry class. This feature was not attaclied to the 
poll tax, which was independent of the ballot. This, as well as the removal of 
the real estate discrimination against naturalized citizens, was a distinct en- , 
largement of the electoral privileges of the registry voters; but, on the other ' 
hand, the Bourn amendment deprived the registry votei-s of Newport, of Paw- : 
tucket, and of all cities incorporated after its adoption, of the right to vote for 
members of the ciiy councils. 

- The text of the amendment is given as Article of Amendment VII in recent 
editions of the statutes The new amendment was very similar to the provision 
on the same subject as drawn up by Dorr in the People's constitution in 1842, ^ 
although even more liberal. (See Rider's Book Xotes, v, .56). The opinion of the i 
Supreme Court upon the operation of the amendment is given in the Governor's 
Message for 1889, p. 17. 

^ In March, 1901, the District of Narragansett was incorporated as a town with 
the same privileges as other towns. 



The Last Four Decades. 387 

the Republican candidate. In 1889 the popular vote was considei-ably 
increased by the enfranchisement of naturalized citizens under the 
Bourn amendment, and ex-Governor Davis received a large plurality, 
but he failing to receive a majority over all, the Republican candidate, 
Herbert W. Ladd, was elected by the grand committee. Ex-Governor 
Davis again received a plurality over Governor Ladd in 1890, and 
failing of a majority was elected by the grand committee. In 1891 
he received a plurality again, but the Republicans having a majority 
in grand committee, ex-Governor Ladd was elected Governor. In 
1892 D. Russell Brown and William C. T. Wardwell were the candi- 
jdates respectively of the Republicans and Democrats, and the fonner 
'was chosen by the people. The next year Governor Brown 's opponent 
;was David S. Baker, who was given a small plurality of the popular 
vote. Owang to a disagreement of the two houses, one of which was 
controlled by the Republicans and the other by the Democrats, they 
did not meet in grand committee, and the old state officials held over.^ 
This frequent defeat of the popular will showed that some change was 
needed. Accordingly a constitutional amendment providing for 
plurality instead of majority elections was passed and submitted to the 
people in November, 1893. It was approved by a vote of 26,703 to 
13,331. Henceforth there was much more simplicity in methods of 
[election, and the aggravation and expense characterizing the majority 
irule were removed. 

: In November, 1892, two constitutional amendments, having been 
passed by both houses, were submitted to the people. One, giving to 
the general assembly power to provide by general law for the creation 
and control of corporations was approved, 17,959 to 10,632. The 
3ther, providing for biennial instead of annual elections, failed to 
i-eceive the necessary three-fifths vote. It was thought, however, that 
the opinion of the people was not fully expressed in regard to this 
latter amendment. Governor Brown, in recommending a re-submis- 
sion of the question, said : ' ' Rhode Island and Massachusetts stand 
alone among the states in their adherence to the antiquated practice of 
annual elections, a practice which weakens authority and discourages 
all effort to develop and improve the public service. ' '- But the people 
were not quite yet ready for the change, and when the proposition 
iwas again placed before them in September, 1895, they rejected it by a 
ivote of 10,603 to 7,449. 

i Governor Brown was re-elected in 1894 and was succeeded in the 
ifollowing year by Charles Warren Lippitt, who remained in office for 
two years. From 1897 to 1899 Elisha Dyer was elected Governor, and 

' See Augustus S. Miller, The conspiracy wJdch overthrew constitutional qovern- 
mnt in R. I. in isys, and also the Remarks upon this pamphlet by Hon. Edward 
L. Freeman. 

' Gove7-nor's Message, 1895, p. 37. 



388 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

in 1900 and 1901 AYilliam Gregory was chosen to the office. All these 
officers were Repiiblican candidates. During this period many new con- 
ditions and important events required legislative action. When the 
project for the great World's Fair at Chicago was suggested, the 
Rhode Island legislature made a primary appropriation of $10,000 
that the state should be properly represented, and subsequently in- 
creased this amount to a total of $60,000. A beautiful state building 
was erected, and the state iteslf displayed two comprehensive exhibits 
— one illustrating educational work and the other menhaden and shell- 
fish industries. There were about one hundred and thirty exhibitors 
from the state, representing machinery, manufactures of iron and 
wood, woolen and cotton textiles and jewelry. Scarcely another state 
in the Union furnished such a varied collection of interesting and 
important exhibits.^ 

In 1893, the assembly passed an act of considerable importance, 
which had been under discussion for two years. Under the title of 
''An act to simplify the duties, equalize the burdens, and increase the 
efficiency, of the Judiciary of the State," an act was passed altering 
those chapters of the public laws that related to the judiciary, repeal- 
ing those measures that were obsolete, and harmonizing conflicting 
statutes.^ The most important act of 1894 was the factory inspection 
law, passed on April 26. This provided for the appointment of two 
factory inspectors, regulated the employment of child labor, and re- 
quired better sanitary arrangements in factories. On May 23, 1895, 
an act was passed for the improvement of state highways. A com- 
mission had been appointed in 1892 to inquire into this matter, and 
upon their report, it was enacted that a state highway commissioner 
should be appointed whose duty it was to provide for the improvement 
of highways and to encourage better methods of roadmaking. Pro- 
vision was also made for the more effective maintenance and repair of 
highways and bridges. 

In February, 1895, Central Falls, then with a population of nearly 
16,000, was taken from Lincoln and incorporated as a city. A long 
act Avas framed providing for the investing of mayor and council and 
for the installation of the ne^v form of government. In May of the same 
year the "city boomers" in Cranston had a similar act passed through 
the assembly for their town, but when it was submitted to the voters 
it was defeated by the narrow majority of 2-4. A like attempt in May, 
1897, to incorporate Johnston as a city was defeated by the voters of 
that town by a majority of 75. In May, 1898, however, by legislative 

1 Governor's Message, for 1894, p. 36; J. C. Wyman, R. T. nt the World's Fair (In 

]V. E. Mdrj. new ser. x, 427). 

'^ This act, generally referred to as the Judiciary Act, and its amendment of 
May 17, 1895, were both published separately from the regular series of num- 
bered chapters of jjublic laws. 



The Last Four Decades. 389 

act, the more populous portion of Johnston was annexed to Provi- 
dence. 

The most important events of the year 1898 were those connected 
, with the war with Spain. At the very beginning of the struggle, the 
general assembly, on April 21, 1898, appropriated $150,000 ' ' to defray 
such military and naval expenses as may be necessary by reason of the 
existing conditions between the United States and the Kingdom of 
Spain." AVhen, on April 23, 1898, President McKinley issued the 
call for troops, recruiting offices were immediately opened in Provi- 
dence, Newport, Pawtucket, AYoonsocket and Westerly. A regiment 
was quickly enlisted, known as the First Rhode Island Regiment, 
United States Volunteer Infantry, and was quartered at the state 
camping ground at Quonset Point. This regiment, numbering 12 
companies of 77 men each, and commanded by Col. Charles W. Abbot, 
jr., started for Camp Alger, Va., on ]\Iay 26, with the expectation of 
being immediately transferred from there to the actual scene of hostil- 
ities. This hope, however, was not to be gratified. 

On May 25 came the second call for volunteers. By the 22d of the 
following month, 329 soldiers had been enlisted and departed to join 
their comrades at Camp Alger. Occasional rumors and false orders 
kept the men in hourly expectation of going to the front, but such was 
not to be their fortune. On August 3 the regiment broke camp to 
march to Thoroughfare Gap, Va. Here they encamped until August 
,22, when they were transported to Camp Meade, in JMiddletown, Pa. 
On November 3 another move was made and the regiment removed to 
Camp Fornance, Columbia, S. C, where it remained until mustered 
out of service in March, 1899. On April 1 the regiment reached 
Providence where it was disbanded, many of its officers and men 
seeking a further military career in volunteer regiments that were 
enlisted for service in the Philippines.^ 

The propositions to amend the constitution now submitted to the 
people comprehended a larger scope than merely the revision of cer- 
tain clauses. There was an increasing sentiment for a general revision 
of the constitution. After several motions for a constitutional con- 
vention had failed of passage, in May, 1897, Senator Freeman pre- 
sented a resolution providing for a bi-partisan commission of nine 
persons, to be appointed by the Governor, to revise the constitution, 
which passed Avithout division. The resolution was amended in the 

' In response to the second call for troops on May 25, 1898, Batteiy A and the 
Machine Gun Battery both offered to serve as light artillery organizations 
They enlisted recruits, went into camp at Quonset Point, but, not being needed 
in active service, were granted honorable discharges on October 26. The various 
official documents and letters relating to the Spanish war were gathered by 
Governor Dyer into a volume entitled B. I. in the war tnith Spain. Brief ac- 
counts of E. I.'s relations to the war are in Prov. Jour. Almanac for 1899 p. 70, 
and for 1900, p. 41. 



390 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

house at the January session, 1897, by striking out the word bi-parti- 
san, and increasing the membership to fifteen, and the senate accepted 
the resolution as amended. The commission, composed of fifteen lead- 
ing men of both party affiliations, held frequent hearings, and reported 
the revised document on February 23, 1898. It was speedily put 
through both houses, and was also accepted by the succeeding legisla- 
ture in ]\Iay. AVhen submitted to the people, however, in November, 
it failed to receive the necessary three-fifths vote, the vote being, ap- 
prove, 17,360, and reject, 13,510. "With some slight changes it was 
submitted again on June 20, 1899, and was again rejected by a vote of 
4,097 to 12,742. The people had evidently declared their mind to 
cling to the old method of only voting upon specific amendments to 
the constitution, at least until some better plan was provided. 

The propositions for a constitutional convention had received some- 
what of a drawback through the opinion rendered by the Supreme 
Court in 1883, that the constitution could be amended only in the 
way provided for by the instrument itself.^ The only feasible method 
in order to remove objectionable features in the constitution, was for 
one legislature to submit to the succeeding legislature specific amend- 
ments to separate provisions. At the January session of 1900 a series 
of amendments were introduced abolishing the May session and there- 
fore Newport as a state capital ; increasing the pay of assemblymen to 
five dollars a day, for not more than sixty days in a year ; changing 
the date of the state election from April to November, extending the 
time for registration of voters to June 30 of each year; and making 
several minor provisions for the election of general officers. This 
motion passed both houses at the January session and again at the 
following May session. In November, 1900, it was submitted to the 
people, and was accepted by a vote of 24,351 to 11,959. 

In many ways the most important movement inaugurated toward 
the close of the century was the building of the new marble State 
House. The old structure on Benefit street, erected in 1760, had 
proved entirely inadequate for the purpose. For half a century 
attempts had been made from time to time to secure the necessary 

' The court had decided that a constitutional convention, "if called, would 
be confined by the Constitution of the United States to the formation of a consti- 
tution for a republican form of government, and our present constitution con- 
tains the fundamental provisions, the great ground plan, of such a form of gov- 
ernment as it is known throughout the Union. Any changes which are in con- 
templation are merely changes of sviperstructure or detail. Our constitution, 
too, contains in its bill of rights the great historic safeguards of liberty and 
property, which certainly no convention would venture either materially to 
alter or to abolish. Any new constitution, therefore, which a convention would 
form, would be a new constitvition only in name; but would be in fact our pres- 
ent constitution amended. It is impossible for us to imagine any alteration, 
consistent with a republican form of government, which cannot be effected by 
specific amendment as provided in the constitution." {li. I. Reporti^, xiv, 654). 



392 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

legislation for the erection of a new capitol. In 1846 a plan had been 
formulated for a building to cost about half a million dollars, and 
many times from then until 1873 active effort was made to bring the 
matter up for discussion. In the latter year a committee had reported 
elaborately on a site, but then the matter was dropped for many years. 
In 1890 a committee was finally appointed to consider and report upon 
the subject. In accordance with the recommendation, a state-house 
commission consisting of thirteen men w-as chosen by the assembly 
with full powers to select a site and build a new capitol. An enabling 
act, authorizing the assembly to provide for the issue of $1,500,000 in 
State-house bonds was passed and in November, 1892, was sealed 
with the popular approval. Additional issues of bonds to the 
amount of .$800,000 in April, 1898, and $700,000 in Novem- 
ber, 1900, brought the total up to $3,000,000. Ground was 
broken for the building on September 16, 1895, when Gov- 
ernor Lippitt removed the first spadeful of earth, and the 
corner-stone was laid with impressive Masonic ceremonies on 
October 15, 1896. The assembly held its first session in the new 
building in January, 1901. The completion of this beautiful marble 
palace and the creation of Providence as the sole capital city mark an 
epoch in Rhode Island's history. For the first two centuries of the 
state's existence, when the towns were more nearly equal in size, the 
assembly had been making a circuit of Narragansett Bay in its en- 
deavor to hold legislative sessions. In 1854, the number of capitals 
was reduced from five to two. Providence and Newport were the 
two largest towns, and henceforth Rhode Island indulged in 
the peculiar distinction of having two capitals. But as the 
manufacturing population in the northern part of the state 
gradually increased, the business of government centered more 
in that section and especially in the rapidly growing city 
of Providence. At the very close of the century, when Provi- 
dence showed such gains as to have a population nearly five 
times as large as any other city in the state, the inevitable change 
came. Newport, the former "metropolis of the colony," was com- 
pelled to witness the loss of its cherished "election day" and the 
removal of its distinction as a state capital. It is the old story of his- 
toric sentiment yielding to the march of progress. 



The Wars 

and 

The Militia. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE WARS AND THE MILITIA. 



At the beginning of the settlements in New England a military 
force was considered essential to the safety of the community. The 
wrongs which had been inflicted upon the Indians by the early visitors 
to the shores of New England, long before settlements had been pro- 
jected, had aroused the suspicion, if not the enmity, of the natives, 
and while they were in many localities peaceably disposed and even on 
most friendly terms with the settlers, the uncertainty of their temper 
made it necessary for the public weal that some provision be made 
for defense in the event of their becoming hostile. The first action by 
the people of Rhode Island providing for such protection was at 
Portsmouth, when it was ordered "that on the 12th of this 9th month 
(1C38) ther shall be a general day of Trayning for the Exercise of 
those who are able to beare Arms in the arte of military disapline, and 
all that are of sixteen years of age and upwards to fifty shall be 
warned thereunto". 

This provided for the simplest kind of a military force ; an occasion 
when each townsman was required to report at a place designated by 
the town authorities, equipped with his own gun and accoutrements. 
Here the townsmen were formed into companies, put Ihrough the crude 
military evolutions then in vogue, after which they were dismissed to 
pass the remaining portion of the day in a general good time. 

The next year after this action of the town of Portsmouth the town 
of Newport provided for its military officers by ordering that "the 
Body of the people viz : the Traine Band shall have free libertie to 
select and chuse such persons, one or more from among themselves, as 
they would have to be officers among them, to exercise and train them 
and then to present them to the jNIagistrates for their approbation''. 
William Foster, at the same time, w^as appointed Clerk of the Train 
Band, and was ordered to view the arms in the hands of the townsmen 
and report the defects to the town court. Robert Jeffries was selected 
to command on these occasions and instruct the Train Band in tactics 
and discipline. Not only did the townsmen arrange for an organized 
force for common defense, but it was ordered "that no man shall go 
two miles from the Towne unarmed, eyther with Gunn or Sword ; and 
that none shall come to any public Meetings without his weapon. 



396 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Upon the default of eyther he shall forfeett five shillings". This law 
^^as rigorously enforced, for, the next month, one of the members of 
the General Court that had passed this order, Mr. Easton, was prompt- 
ly fined five shillings "for coming to the public meeting v\dthout his 
weapon according to that order". 

On the 6th of August, 1640, at a session of the General Court, held 
at Portsmouth, a law w^as passed providing for the conduct of military 
affairs in a more elaborate manner than had heretofore been done, for 
it was agreed and ordered, "that all Men allowed and assigned to 
beare armes, shall make their personall appearance completely armed 
with Muskett and all its furniture ; or pike with its furniture, to attend 
their Coulers by Eight of the clock in the morning, at the second beat 
of the Drum, on such dayes as they are appointed to Traine. And 
further it is ordered, that eight severall times in the yeare the Bands 
of each Plantation shall openlie in the field be exercised and disciplined 
by their Commanders and Officers. And further it is ordered that 
there shallbetwoGeneralMusters in the yeare, the one to be disciplined 
at Nieuport, the other at Portsmouth ; and that if any shall faile to 
make their personal appearance as aforesaid, according to time and 
place aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay the simi of five shillings into 
the hands of the Clark of the Band. And further it is ordered, and 
by this present authority established, that if any person shall come to 
the said Training or Generall INIuster, defective in his armes or fur- 
niture equivalent, he shall pay forthwith the sum of twelve pence ; and 
further it is ordered, that w^hen the Generall ]\Iuster shall be held at 
the one Towne, there shall be a sufficient Guard sett and left at the 
other Towne with the Constable or his deputy. And further, it is 
ordered, that the Commanders Vidg't, Chief taine and Lieutenant, shall 
appoint the dayes and times of their s'd meetings; And further it is 
ordered, that all men who shall come and remaine the space of t wen tie 
days on the Island, he shall be liable to the injunctions of this order ; 
provided, that if eyther heardsmen or Lighter men be otherways de- 
tained upon their necessary employments, they shall be exempted, pay- 
ing only two shillings and six pence for that day, into the hands of the 
Clarke : And further be it established, that the tAvo Chiefe Officers of 
each Towne, to witt: the one of the Commonweal, the other of the 
Band; and these two officers upon the exhibition of the Complaint by 
ye Clark (which shall be within three dayes after the faults com- 
mitted), shall Judge and determine of the reasons of their excuses, who 
upon the hearing thereof, shall determine whether such person shall 
pay five shillings and six pence, or nothing. And further it is ordered, 
that Libertie be granted to Parmer or Farmers to leave one man at the 
s'd Farme, he paying the sum of two shillings and six pence into the 
hands of the Clarke. And further it is ordered, that the Clarke of 
each Band shall receive the monies off any Man to provide and make 



The Wars and the Militia. 397 

supply of such things as he shall stand in need of; during which 
time, after the deliverie of the s'd money, he shall be excused for his 
defects in his Amies; but if the money be not delivered, then to be 
liable to the injunctions herein contained ; provided, also that the Clark 
of each Band shall hereby be authorized to ask, receive or destraine 
for all such fines or forfeitures as by any are made, and that the said 
sum of monies so levied shall be employed to the use and service of the 
said Band. 

"It is ordered, that the Treasurer shall provide and fitt up on Drum, 
Collers and halberts for the Band of Portsmouth." 

On the oth of October, 1643, at Portsmouth, it was ordered that 
* ' Richard Morise and James Badcock shall look up all the armes in the 
Town and that ( ) and John Briggs shall go to every house and 

see what armes are defective ; and that the men whose armes are to be 
handed in to be ( ) by the town aforesaid. If the armes be 

not brought in timely to forfeit five shillings". 

It was further ordered "that every man shall have four pounds of 
shot lying by him and two pounds of powder and to have it in readiness 
by the 24th of this month". This day was pitched upon as a day for 
general training, and every man in the settlement between the ages 
named in the former order of the town was required to be in readiness 
at the beat of the drum. The clerk of the band who had been ap- 
pointed to inspect the arms in the possession of the townsmen, reported 
many in a condition unsuitable for use, and such of the townsmen 
whose arms were in this condition were ordered to make their appear- 
ance before the judge within ten days, "to give answer for their 
deficiencies there", and every Traine Soldier was required to be pro- 
vided with his equipments in good order by the last day of April, 1643, 
at his peril. 

A Portsmouth town order provided that "every man do come armed 
unto the meeting upon every sixth day". 

Mr. William Brent on was authorized to fix the days for trainings; 
officers were appointed to see that every one of the townsmen had the 
requisite amount of powder and bullets on hand ten days before such 
training day. 

Officers Avere regularly appointed by the General Assembly of the 
Colony, called "Gun smiths for the Colony", whose duty it was to 
keep in order and scrutinize the town arms and those in private hands. 

All this activity regarding the militia was incited, no doubt, by 
the suspicious actions of bands of Indians who had been discovered 
prowling around the Island, for at the time it was ordered "that if 
there be any Indians skulking about in any part of the Island, thought 
to be suspicious, the magistrates are to send forth a man and ladye 
with . . . there before them", the mutilated condition of the 



398 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

records being responsible for the indefmiteness of the concluding por- 
tion of this order. 

Having established the militia on an orderly and substantial footing, 
and being thus in a position where they could dictate to the Indians 
who had made themselves more or less offensive, the townsmen, in the 
solemnity of town meeting, issued an order requiring all the Indians 
in the town to depart forthwith, with all their effects, to the woods, 
and prohibiting them from returning into the town under heavy 
penalties. 

On the 16th and 17th of ]\Iarch, 1642, the first officers for the Train 
Bands of these towns were chosen. Those for the town of Newport 
being : Robert Jeoffreys, Captain ; Jeremy Clarke, Lieutenant ; Wm 
Smith, Ensign; George Gardiner, Senr Sargeant; Robert Stanton, 
Junr Sargeant; Toby Knight, Clerk; while those for the town of Ports- 
mouth were : Robert Morris, Captain ; AA^m Bolston, Lieutenant ; 
Thomas Cornill, Ensign; AVm Cowland, Senr Sargeant; Thomas Gor- 
ton, Junr Sargeant; Adam Mott, Clerk. 

The first Monday of every month was fixed for training, excepting 
in the months of May and August, January and February, the first 
two exceptions doubtless being the planting and harvesting time, while 
the weather in the latter months was liable to be too inclement for 
out of door exercise of this character. 

Although at this period a settlement had been made at AVarwick, the 
settlers had not assumed any of the functions of government, holding 
that so long as they were subjects of England, they had no lawful right 
to erect a government without authority from the crown. They, there- 
fore, never exercised any such power of government or proceeded to 
elect any officers until the organization of a government for the Colony 
in May, 1647, under the charter of 1644. 

The records of the first year of the Providence settlement are scant 
and imperfect; there is no reference to any proceedings regarding a 
military force until after the union of the four towns, Newport, Ports- 
mouth, AVarwick and Providence, in August, 1654. In that year, the 
8th of the 9th month, Thomas Harris was chosen lieutenant over the 
Train Band. John Smith, the miller, ensign, and Benjamin Smith, 
sergeant. Thomas Hopkins and James Ashton were corporals, and 
John Sayles, clerk. 

Thus was organized the first military force in the Colony for its 
defense against foes from within and without its borders. 

Every male was required to be equipped with suitable "arms and 
furniture" for active service in the Train Band, and was also obliged 
to take part in the general training. No excuse was accepted unless 
by reason of "age, nonage, sickness, lameness or publique barringe of 
office at the time". In such cases a certificate of the military com- 
mander was issued to the person thus disabled. For neglecting to 



The Wars and the Militia. 399 

take part in the muster or training previous to 1654 there was a fine 
of 5s., but in that year the penalty was reduced to 2s. and 6d^ 

That the homes of the settlers, who lived remote from the compact 
part of the towns, might not be left entirely unprotected and at the 
same time the farmer be exempt from the payment of the fine for 
non-attendance on training days, it was ordered by a vote of the town 
meeting of Providence, "that those farms which are one mile ofl^ the 
Town alone, shall have liberty to leave one man at home on the trayn- 
ing days". 

In 1655 training days occurred four times a year, a reduction in 
the number which the laws required some eight years previous, for 
in 1647^ training days were held on the first Mondays in each month 
except May, August, January and February. 

I These were days of great importance to the townspeople. Early in 
the morning the members of the several companies set out from their 
homes, oftentimes many miles from the rendezvous, bearing their 
arms and equipments for the day 's service. 

The Colony orders required them "to make their personal appear- 
ance, completely armed, to attend their colors by 8 o'clock in the 
morning at the second beat of the Drum", "provided with a muskat, 
one pound of powder, twenty bullets and two fadom of match, w^itli 
I sword, rest, bandaleers all completely furnished", and later it was 
I declared that "fyrelocks and snaphaunces with powder homes be 
{ allowed ' ', as well as muskets. The rendezvous was often at some 
' tavern, for the landlord usually held some position in the company. 
He always made preparation "against a training", for as the day 
i was in the nature of a holiday and all the people laid aside their usual 
; vocations, the tavern and its adjunct, the bar, became an attractive 
i spot, and in those liquor-loving days, alcoholic stimulants were dis- 
posed of in great quantities on training days. Indeed, it was even 
hinted that trainings were sometimes ordered that a material benefit 
: might accrue to the tavern keeper. Official notices, proclamations and 
such orders as were to be given the widest publicity were read at the 
head of the Train Band, 

When the royal proclamation, announcing the death of King Charles 
the Second and proclaiming James the Second "By the Grace of God 
King of England, Scotland, ff ranee & Ireland", was received in Provi- 
dence, on the 1st day of May, 1685, the Train Band was assembled 
in military order, and Thomas Olney, the town clerk, was appointed 
to read this royal document before the militia, and, with sound of 
drum and colors dipped, the clerk at the head of the procession pro- 
ceeded to three public places in the town where this solemn duty was 
performed before the assembled populace; then he returned to his 

^Early Records of Providence, vol. ii, p. 77. 
''R. I. Colonial Records, vol. i, p. 153. 



400 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

desk and wrote upon the records of the town, for future generations 
to observe, "the which was duly attended unto & Solemnly performed 
upon ffriday the first day of May 1685 : in the head of the Train Baud 
there together in military Order & in presence of ye Assistants & 
principal inhabitants of said town".^ 

In later years the assembling of the companies always brought out a 
crowd of people and was a more or less festive occasion. It gave the 
opportunity for an interchange of news and gossip and furnished an 
excuse for certain excesses. Sometimes a town meeting was held on a 
training day, and on such occasions opportunity was given for con- 
cocting schemes for presentation at the meeting, combining all the 
facilities that are afforded now by the modern caucus. On this ac- 
count voluntary trainings were sometimes brought about. Such a 
a proceeding occurred in Providence in the winter of 1655, but the 
records of the town give but an imperfect knowledge of the difficulties 
which this affair produced. It was, however, a subject of "great 
debate" among the townsmen, and doubtless continued to be until 
the June following, when, at a town meeting, it was voted that 'wheas 
there hath Bin greate debate this day about Tho : Olnie Rob : Williams 
Jon ffield. Will Harris & others concerning ye matter of a tumult and 
disturbance in ye winter, under a pretence of voluntary training it 
was at last concluded By vote that for ye Colonies sake whoe had 
chosen Tho : Olnie an assistant & for ye publike union & peace sake it 
should be past By & no more mentioned. ' '- Whatever this affair was, 
it is, of course, impossible now to state, but it would seem as though 
all those who were engaged in it were heartily ashamed of the whole 
business and the sooner it was forgotten and forgiven the better it 
would be for all concerned. 

The year 1672 brought to the Colony a series of troubles which 
aroused the people to a high state of excitement. The efforts of the 
Connecticut Colony to extend its jurisdiction to the Narragansett 
Country brought about a conflict at Westerly, where several persons 
were assaulted and carried away as prisoners. This "riotous, rebel- 
lious and tumultuous" affair was soon brought to the notice of the men 
of Providence, and a town meeting was convened^ June 17, 1672. The 
only matter disposed of was the following unique but determined 
order : ' ' The town haveing this dai Recueed lettrs Concer the 
Jntnones of Canitticot men haue with a free vott agreed to withstand 
and maintain what: thay Can againest Canitticot men"; without 
further ado the meeting adjourned. With all its quaintness of 
expression and illiteracy of composition it shows the temper of the 
people with respect to this overt act of the sister Colony, Hardly had 

'Early Records of Providence, vol. 8, p. 152. 

2Ibid., vol. ii, p. 81. 

^Providence Records, vol. iii, p. 224. 



The Wars and the Militia, 401 

they had time to consider the situation which confronted them by 
this attitude of Connecticut, when a special order from the king was 
received, proclaiming "War against the Dutch," and urging the 
Colony to put itself in a "posture of defence," and "especially to 
take care* for powder shott and ammunition." 

In this year Arthur Fenner, sometimes called the Captain of Provi- 
dence, received a commission from the Colony as Captain of the Train 
Baud. This old document is now preserved with the great seal 
of the Colony of bright red wax still adhering to it, and is in the 
following words : 

"You, Arthur Fenner, Beinge Chosen to the office of Captain of 
the Train Band of the Towne of Providence and Solemnly Engaged 
thereunto, Are hereby in his Majties Name Jmpoured and alsoe 
Required to doe all such things, as by the Acts and Orders of the 
General Assembly or of the Towne Councill of the Towne aforesaid 
Relatinge to Traininge or Watchinge have been annexed unto your 
said office, as also in Case of any suddaine Assault of approach of a 
Common Enemy to Jnfest or disturb this his Majties plantacone By 
Direction from the Governor, and Councill, if it may be had, or if 
through the Suddainness of the Assault, it cannot be had Then at your 
discression you are to Alarme and getlier together the said Train 
Band, and to the utmost of your skill and ability you are with them 
(in the name of the Lord of Hosts by all laM'ful meanes as is Exprest 
in our Charter) to resist expulse, expel 1 &c. The same in order to 
preserve the Intrest of his Majtie and of his good subjects in these 
parts. You are alsoe to follow such ffurther Directions and instruc- 
tions as shall from time to time be given forth, either from the General 
Assembly, the Governor and councill, or the Councill of the Respective 
Towne to which you belong. And for so doeing this Commission 
shall be your Warrant and discharge Given Under the Sealle of the 
Colony in the yeare 1672. 

"By order of the Generall Assembly of his Majties Collony 
of Rhod Island and providence plantacons &c. 

' ' John Sanf ord Recorder ' '. 

Only a few years later, in 1675, occurred King Philip's war, 
brought about by the United Colonies, of which the Rhode Island 
Colony was not a part, but it brought to these plantations all of the 
horrors of Indian warfare. Its towns were depopulated, the homes 
of many of the settlers were reduced to ashes, and most of their per- 
sonal belongings scattered and destroyed. 

It was the middle of July. 1675, that Capt. Benjamin Church, the 
famous Indian fighter, had followed Philip to Pocasset. Here the 
Indians had intrenched themselves in a swamp, and the English 
troops, thinking they might "starve the beast in his den", watched for 
some days. They knew the sacrifice that must follow if they pene- 
26-1 



402 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

trated the swamps and underbrush, and confident of soon bringing 
the Indians to terms by starvation, they dismissed a portion of the 
troops. But the wily Philip and his band, "taking the advantage of 
a low tide in the middle of the night, wafted themselves over on small 
rafts of timber, into the woods that led into the Nipmuc country", 
while the English forces were encamped and thus escaped. The 
escape, of the Indians was at once discovered and the force then 
engaged in watching the swamp closely followed. It was a small 
force, for many of the soldiers had returned to Boston, while some 
had been dispatched to Mendon where the restless Nipmucks 
threatened an attack. In order to unite with the Nipmucks, whose 
territory Philip was seeking to reach, it w^as necessary to ford the 
Blackstone River and then cross the outlying territory of the town 
of Providence over the Nipmuck trail towards Quabaug.^ The nearest 
wading place or ford for them to cross was at Martin's Wade, a short 
distance south of the present village of Ashton, near which was the 
home of John Wilkinson. There were other wading places, but they 
were too far distant to be available in the hurried march which Philip 
had undertaken, one being near the Providence settlement, while 
the other was far up the river at Woonsocket. 

The little baud of troopers and foot soldiers kept on, determined 
that the Indians should not escape them. About sunset on the 31st 
of July, they overtook a company of Providence men, doubtless 
alarmed at the news of a large body of Indians crossing their borders, 
who united with them. On they went through the country, alarming 
the settlers along their path and gaining reinforcements as they pro- 
ceeded. It was long before daylight when they reached the home of 
Eleazer AVhipple.- Here he joined the forces in pursuit, accompanied 
by his neighbors, Valentine Whitman, John Wilkinson, John Ballou, 
John Man and several Providence men. 

A council of Avar was then held and scouts sent out to see if any 
.tidings of the savages could be learned. Before daylight these scouts; 
came in and reported that they had heard the Indians while at work 
cutting wood. The troopers then hitched their horses on an open 
plain, and the company proceeded about "3 miles to an Indian field 
belonging to Philip's men, called Nipsachick". A foot note to this 
word in the letter of Captain Thomas, printed in full in the appendix 
to Drake's King Philip's War, says: "About 20 miles to the north- 
ward of the west from Rehoboth"; but in the light of modern] 
investigation this location is vague indeed, for Nipsachick, or Nipsat-j 
chuck, was on Rhode Island soil, and from the doorstep of Eleazer' 
Whipple's house you can to-day look right off upon the spot. 

'Brookfield, Mass. 

=A house still standing near Lime Rock village; a more particular account | 
will appear in another chapter. 



The Wars and the Militia. 403 

Nipsatchuck lies in the boundary line between North Smithfield and 
Smithfield and to the north of the swamp which now bears the name 
of Nipsatchuck swamp. It was a well known locality with the 
Indians, for here was one of their planting fields. It was also a 
prominent boundary in the early land titles to this part of the Rhode 
Island territory. 

But what followed is best told in the plain words of Caplain 
Thomas : " At dawning of the day marched forward about 40 rods, 
making a stand to consult in what form to surprise the enemy, without 
danger to one another, and in the interim while it was so dark as we 
could not see a man 50 rods, within 80 rods of us there came up 
towards us five Indians from Wetamoes camp (we suppose to felch 
beans &c from the said field) perceiving nothing of us, at whom we 
were constrained to fire, slew two of them, the others fled, whereby 
Weetamos ' and Philip 's camp were alarmed. ' ' 

The camp of AVeetamo was only about one hundred rods distant, 
and the firing had awakened the Indians, who were sleeping uncon- 
scious of any attack. They fled, hotly pursued by the troops. The 
camp of Philip also was alarmed, and his men retreated from their 
camp which was about three-quarters of a mile beyond Weetamo. The 
fight then became general and continued until nine o'clock in the 
morning of August 1. In this encounter thirty- two of the Indians 
were slain and several of the troopers wounded. The Indians then 
retreated and the pursuit was abandoned. 

The Providence company which participated in this fight was com- 
manded by Capt. Andrew Edmonds, an old Indian fighter, to whom 
was afterwards granted the privilege of operating a ferry, where the 
Red Bridge now crosses the Seekonk river, by the men whom he said in 
his petition ' ' fought with me at Nipsatteke ' ', as compensation for his 
valiant services in the w^ar. The wounded men were taken to Providence, 
where they arrived about twelve or one o'clock that night, and later 
were sent to Newport; all of them received grants from the Colony 
for wounds received ''in the late warr with the Indians".^ It was a 
memorable night to the families in the Louisquisset Country.- The 
horrors of war were enacted almost within their door yards, although 
there were none of those fiendish butcheries which characterized the- 
attacks on many of the Massachusetts settlements. From this time 
the Indian war, or, as it is more generally known. King Philip's War, 
raged through the summer and winter of 1675. Whole towns were 
wiped out by fire and the inhabitants either massacred or carried away 

^It is believed that the first recorded evidence of the granting of a pension 
was for wounds received in this encounter, and Eleazer Whipple was the pen- 
sioner. 

^The Indian name for the country thereabouts. 



404 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

into captivity. This appalling news had been promptly circulated 
throughout the Colonies. 

At the Providence town meeting, on October 14, 1675, it was 
ordered that six men should be sent out of the town every day "to 
discover what Indians shall come to disquite the town". Every 
housekeeper and every man residing in the town was required to take 
his turn in this means of public safety, and a penalty of five shillings 
a day was prescribed for non-compliance with this order. 

When the news of the horrible acts of the Indians reached Provi- 
dence, Roger Williams sent a communication to the town meeting 
respecting the public safety ; in it he says : 

"I pray ye Towne in ye sence of ye Late bloodie practices of ye 
natives to giue leaue to so many can agree with Wm field to bestow 
some charge vpon fortifying his house for a security to AVomen & 
children. Allso to giue me leaue & so many as shall agree to put up 
some Defence on ye hill between the Mill & ye Highway for ye like 
Safetie of ye women & children in that part of the town".^ 

The house of William Field, which was to be fortified, was located 
towards the southerly end of the Town street and about where to-day 
stands the granite building of the Providence Institution for Savings. 
During the period when the town was nearly deserted the few towns- 
men who remained assembled in front of this house, under a tree 
by the waterside, and transacted the business of the town. 

The hill between the "Mill & ye Highway" was called the "Stamp- 
ers", the reason for which is uncertain. Here, more than twenty years 
before, liberty was ' ' giuen to so many as please to erect a fortification 
upon the Stompers hill". 

Between these two points, about where Waterman street enters North 
Main street, was the substantial house of Nathaniel Waterman. For 
two months after the attack on the town this house of Waterman was 
selected for the * * Royal garrison ' ', and the ' ' King 's collors ' ' were here 
displayed with due formality. 

That the inhabitants were fully sensible of the dangers which 
threatened, is shown by these acts of precaution, as well as by a letter 
which the town received from Governor Clarke, sent in reply to one 
asking for aid. There is no record found among the city's archives 
which shows positively what this request was, but the nature of the 
reply leaves little doubt as to its nature. 

This letter is addressed to "Captain Arthur Fenner with the rest 
concerned", and is dated "28 day 12 mo 1675". It says: "We are 
not of ability to keep soldiers under pay having not provisions as 
bread neither are you. Therefore what you can secure by your OAvn 
people is best and what you cannot secure is best to be ti-ansported 

^Providence Town Papers, 01184. 



The Wars and the Militia. 405 

hither for security, for we have no hopes but sorrows will increase and 
time will wear you out and if men lie upon you their charge will be 
more than your profit twice told. ' '^ 

This letter shows either one of two things : First, that the Colony 
was in no condition to undertake the burden that would be thus im- 
posed, or, second, that the Quaker intluences of the authorities had 
governed them in the management of the affairs of the Colony, for it 
must be remembered that the public offices of the Plantations were 
largely held by those who belonged to the Society of Friends. 

This letter M-as followed soon after by another, which emanated 
from the General Assembly, specially convened for the purpose of 
considering measures of safety, advising the same course that had been 
recommended by the governor. 

The authorities seem to have resigned themselves to the fact that the 
Colony was too poor to undertake to protect its scattered settlements, 
and advised both the people of Providence and those of AVarwick to 
take up their abode at Newport. 

Notwithstanding the attractiveness of Newport as a place of resort, 
j it is significant that the leading officers of the Colony were residents 
j of the Island, and had thus provided a strong body to protect its 
shores from any hostile demonstrations of the enemy. 

This offer was accepted by a great number of the inhabitants of 
Providence; probably all of the women and children and a good 
portion of the males took up their residence on the island, some of 
them temporarily, while others adopted the place as their permanent 
home. 

On the 15th of December, 1675, the garrison house of Jireh Bull, on 
the Pequot trail on the ridge of Tower Hill, in what is now South 
Kingstown, was attacked and fifteen persons killed, the house was 
destroyed and only two of the inmates succeeded in escaping. 

"Tradition places the location of this house on the right hand side 
traveling north, a little distance south of the present corner made by 
the descent of the road running to the west". The garrison is said to 
have been built of stone and easily defended by a small number of 
persons, and its destruction with the slaughter of most of its occupants 
is thought to have been due to surprise or treachery. 

It is stated by Arnold that "this was the first overt act of war 
within the limits of Rhode Island", and Miss Caroline Hazard, in 
"Narragansett Friends Meeting", says it was the destruction of this 
house which was the actual incitement to the Great Swamp Fight, 
which practically exterminated the Indians and put an end to King 
Philip's war. It undoubtedly had its influence in precipitating the 
fight in the Narragansett swamp, but it has already been shown that 

^Annals of Providence, p. 162. 



406 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the fight at Nipsatchuck, on Rhode Island soil, and participated in hy- 
men of Providence, and preceded it by six months. 

In the same month occurred within the borders of the Colony, in 
what is now South Kingstown, the Swamp Fight, which resulted prac- 
tically in the annihilation of the once powerful tribe of Narragansetts. 

It was on the 2d of November, 1675, that the United Colonies de- 
clared war against the Narragansetts and steps were at once taken to 
carry the war into the heart of the Indian country at Narragansett. 
Here, in a swamp called the Great Swamp, within the borders of what 
is now the town of South Kingstown, the Indians had taken up winter 
quarters. An army of one thousand men was at once organized, 
composed of veteran Indian fighters. Gen. Josiah Winslow, governor 
of the Plymouth Colony, was appointed commander-in-chief. Major 
Samuel Appleton was placed in command of the Massachusetts regi- 
ment, Major William Bradford commanded the Plymouth Colony 
regiment, and Major Robert Treat commanded the force from Con- 
necticut.^ 

On Saturday, December 11, the forces from the Massachusetts 
Colony and a portion of the Plymouth regiment formed a junction 
at Providence. Here they were joined by some of the Providence 
men, Andrew Harris, William Whipple and Valentine Whitman ; these 
men doubtless acted as guides or interpreters for the troopers of Cap- 
tain Moseley 's company, belonging to the Massachusetts forces. 

There is yet preserved a little scrap of paper^ on which appears a 
memorandum of the expenses paid by the town on account of supply- 
ing the soldiers with food, and shoeing their horses. It is as follows : 

' ' Shoeing a horse of and harris 1-4 

by shoeing a horse for will Whipple 1-4 

by shoeing a boss Val Whitman 1-4 

by shoeing 3 horses for Capt. Mosly 4-4 

by sheep that Capt. Mosley and the soldiers had by the 
magistrates order". 

On the evening of the next day (Sunday, December 12) the troops 
marched from the Carpenter Garrison at Pawtuxet, crossed the Paw- 
tuxet river into Warwick, on their way to the rendezvous at Richard 

^For a detailed account of the Swamp Fight, with lists of wounded and 
reports of oflficers engaged, see New England Historical and Genealogical 
Register for January, 1886, where the campaign is treated in detail by Rev. 
George M. Bodge. 

Of the trooj)s of Massachusetts the quota was 527 : the number actually im- 
pressed was 540, including troopers 75. The returns made at Dedham Plain, 
where Gen. Winslow assumed command on December 9, give 465 foot, troopers 
73. 

The Connecticut quota was 315 and there was also a company of Indians, 
150. Plymouth's (juota was 158. 

"Providence Town Papers. 



J 



The Wars and the Militia. 



407 



Smith's block-house and trading post near Wickford. Through the 
ignorance of guides who had been obtained in Warwick, the troops 
lost their way and spent mucn valuable time in finding the trail, 
being obliged to be on the march all night and not reaching the Smith 
Garrison until early morning of the 13th. 

Here they found Capt.Moseley 's company, which had preceded them 
by Avater, in one of Richard Smith's vessels sailing from Seekonk. On 
the 17th news came that the force from Connecticut had reached 
Pettisquamscott. 

The time between the 13th and the 19th of December was spent 
in conflict with small parties of Indians about the neighborhood; many 
of the Indians were killed, others taken prisoners and their wigwams 
destroyed. On Sunday, the 19th, at five o'clock in the morning, the 




Updyke House, near Wickford. 

Erected on the site of the Richard Smith Block-house, and said to contain some of the 
timbers of the original house. The troops that participated in the Swamp Fight made this 
house their headquarters and here they brought their dead and wounded. 



whole force marched towards the Indian stronghold at the swamp. 
It is about sixteen miles from the Smith Garrison to the Great Swamp, 
and it was not until one o'clock that the army came upon the savages 
who were met at the edge of this swamp, in the midst of which they 
had built a fort upon an island of some five or six acres. Hubbard 
says: "The fort was raised upon a kind of island of five or six 
acres of rising land in the midst of a swamp ; the sides of it were made 
of Palisadoes set upright, which was compassed about with a Hedge of 
almost a rod Through". At the corners and exposed portions rude 
block-houses and flankers had been built, from which a raking fire 
could be poured upon any attacking force. A contemporary writer 



408 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

states that there was a clay wall within the stockade, but at the time 
of the attack the wall was not quite finished. A renegade white man, 
Joshua Tift, an Englishman, is said to have planned this work. The 
day was extremely cold, the waters of the swamp were frozen, and the 
island was easily accessible over the firm ice surrounding it. The 
troops under the command of Capts. Moseley and Davenport were in 
the lead, and came first upon the Indians and opened fire. This the 
savages immediately returned with an ineffectual volley, and fled to 
their stronghold on the island, closely followed by the attacking 
companies. The troops approached the swamp along the rising land 
in front of the house formerly occupied by Hon. Henry Marchant, 
situated about three-quarters of a mile west of the West Kingstown 
railroad station. 

The passage into the fort, left by the Indians for their own use, 
was by a long tree over the water, across which but one person might 
pass at a time ; had the troops attempted to force an entrance to the 
fort at this point the loss would have been far greater than it was. So 
closely had the troops followed up the retreating Indians that they 
were led straight to this entrance, but fortunately, before going too 
far, they discovered the trap and at the same time discovered the only 
assailable part of the fort a little farther on. "This was at a corner 
of the fort, where was a large unfinished gap, where neither palisados 
nor the abbatis or (hedge) had been placed, but only a long tree had 
been laid across, about five feet from the ground, to fill the gap, and 
might be easily passed ; only that the block-house, right opposite this 
gap, and the flankers at the sides were finished, from which a galling 
fire might sweep and enfilade the passage". 

The Massachusetts companies of Capts. Davenport (5th Company-) 
and Johnson (4th Company) came first to this spot and at once charged 
through the gap and over the log. Here Johnson fell dead ; and Dav- 
enport fell a few moments later "a little within the fort. Their men 
M'ere met by so fierce a fire that they were forced to retire and fall upon 
Iheir faces to avoid the fury of the musketry till it should somewhat 
abate. Moseley and Gardiner, pressing to their assistance, met a similar 
reception, losing heavily, till they, too, fell back with the others, until 
Major Appleton, coming up with his own and Capt. Oliver's men, 
massed his entire force as a storming column, and it is said that the 
shout of one of the commanders that the Indians were running, so in- 
spired the soldiers that they made an impetuous assault, carried the 
entrance amain, beat the enemy from one of his flankers at the left, 
which aftorded them a temporary shelter from the Indians still hold- 
ing the block-house opposite the entrance. In the meantime, the 
General, holding the Plymouth forces in reserve, pushed forward the 
Connecticut troops, who, not being aware of the extent of the danger 
from the block-house, suffered fearfully at their entrance, but charged 



The Wars and the Militia. 



409 



forward gallantly, though some of their brave officers and many of 
their comrades lay dead behind them, and unknown numbers and 
dangers before. The forces now joining, beat the enemy step by step, 
and with fierce fighting, out of their block-houses and various fortifica- 
tions. Many of the Indians, driven from their Avorks, fled outside, 
some doubtless to the wigwams inside, of which there were said to be 
upward of five hundred, many of them large and rendered bullet-proof 
by large quantities of grain in tubs and bags, placed along the sides. 
In these many of their old people and their women and children had 
gathered for safety, and behind and within these as defenses the In- 
dians still kept up a skulking fight, picking off our men. After three 
hours of hard fighting, with many of the officers and men wounded 
or dead, a treacherous enemy of unknown numbers and resources lurk- 
ing in the surrounding forests, and the night coming on, word comes 




A^I^O^*^^;^^*!*^^^^^^;;.;;^^^^ "^\^''^"'"; 



-ex. » *' 



Greene's Stone Castle. 

Formerly standing on the north side of the road from Old Warwick to Apponaug. The 
residence of Thomas Greene and his descendants from 1G60 to 1795. This house was the only- 
one in the town of Warwick that survived King Philip's war. It was demolished in 1795. 

From a drawing made by Mrs. John Wickes Greene. 

to fire the wigwams, and the battle becomes a fearful holocaust, great 
numbers of those who had taken refuge therein being burned." 

The fight raged for nearly three hours with dreadful carnage in pro- 
portion to the numbers engaged. It is not certain at just what point the 
Plymouth forces were pushed forward, but most likely after the works 
were carried, and the foremost, exhausted, retired for a time bearing 
their dead and wounded to the rear. It is doubtful if the cavalry 
crossed the swamp, but were rather held in reserve and as scouts to 
cover the rear and prevent surprises from any outside parties. 

Leaving the burning fortress the troops set out on their return to 



410 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 



± 






the Smith garrison, taking with them two hundred wounded and ten 
dead. The night was bitter cold, and a blinding snow storm set in; 
and, encumbered with this great number of wounded and dead, the 
march back was slow and terrible, and it was two o'clock the next 
morning before the main column arrived at its destination, A portion 
of the troops lost their way and did not arrive until seven o'clock. 

Forty men, who were killed in battle or died from wounds and the 
rigors of the march, were buried in one grave on the land adjoining 
the garrison. This grave was marked for many years by a large apple 
tree which was uprooted by the gale of 1815, but the spot may be 
identified to-day from the nature of the grass over it and on which 
cattle will not feed. 

Notwithstanding the terrible slaughter and defeat which the Nar- 
ragansetts had sustained, they soon rallied and in small bodies 

proceeded to wreak ven- 
geance on the scattered 
settlements. On the 16th 
of March an attack was 
made upon the "Warwick 
settlement, and every 
house was burned to the 
ground wnth the excep- 
tion of one. This was a 
house built entirely of 
stone and called 
Greene 's Castle : this 
house survived for many 
years thereafter and was 
finally demolished by its 
owner about 1795. In 
this attack the only per- 
son killed was John 
Wickes,andhis body was 
left horribly mutilated.^ 
On Sunday, March 26, 1676, a few days before the attack on Provi- 
dence, there was fought in what is now the town of Cumberland one 
of the most disastrous battles of the war. The locality where the final 
stand in this engagement with the Indians took place has long been 
designated as "Nine Men's Misery". It is about a mile and a quarter 
northeast from the village of Ashton, near the Union Chapel, between 
Diamond Hill Road and the road running west from Union Chapel. 
A rough monument of common field stones marks the spot. The name, 







Monument at the Scene of Pierce's Fight. 



Mn Fuller's "History of Warwick" will be found a more detailed account 
of the death of Wickes. 



The Wars and the Militia. 411 

Nine Men's Misery, is derived from the fact that it was at this spot 
that the final stand was made by nine men, the remnants of Capt. 
Michael Pierce's company, in his desperate encounter with the 
Indians in King Philip 's war, and here they all died from the hands 
of the savages. Some years ago some of the bones of the slain were 
disinterred and examined and again buried. 

The government of Plymouth, fearing that their settlements 
would be again attacked, after so many outrages had been com- 
mitted in Massachusetts, ordered out a company for their defense, 
consisting of sixty-three Englishmen and twenty Cape Indians, under 
the command of Captain Michael Pierce, of Scituate, Mass., who im- 
mediately set out in pursuit of the enemy, who were supposed to be in 
the vicinity. He rendezvoused at a garrison in Rehoboth on Saturday 
night, and the next day, "having intelligence in his Garrison at Sea- 
conicke that a party of the enemy lay near Mr. Blackstone 's,^ he went 
forth with 63 English and 20 Cape Indians, ' ' and soon discovered four 
or five Indians in a piece of woods, who pretended to be lame and 
wounded ; this proved to be a stratagem to lure the settlers into an 
ambush, for they soon discovered a large body of the enemy, com- 
manded by Canonchet, a Narragansett chief. 

Captain Pierce, though aware of their superiority of numbers, 
courageously pursued them, when they began to retreat; and before he 
was aware of it he found that he was completely surrounded by a 
large body of Indians, estimated at more than four hundred, a portion 
of the enemy being stationed on the opposite side of the river to pre- 
vent the English crossing.- They Avere thus attacked in front and rear 
by an overwhelming force, with no chance of retreat and all hope of 
escape cut off. 

At this critical juncture Captain Pierce formed his men into a circle, 
back to back, four paces apart, thus enlarging the circle to its greatest 
extent and presenting a front to the enemy in every direction, and 
necessarily scattering their fire over a greater surface ; whilst the In- 
dians stood in a deep circle, one behind another, forming a compact 
mass and presenting a front where every shot must take effect, or, as 
stated by a contemporary annalist, "Capt. Pierce cast his men into a 
ring, and fought back to back, and were double-double distance all in 
one ring, Avhilst the Indians were as thick as they could stand thirty 
deep". He thus made a brave resistance for two hours, all the while 
keeping the enemy at a distance and his own men in perfect order, and 
kept up a constant and destructive fire upon the Indians. At last, 

'Blackstone's house was located at the spot where the monument stands in 
the mill yard at Lonsdale, R. I. 

^An exhaustive account of this fight may be found in a paper read before the 
Rhode Island Historical Society, Oct. 1, 1889, by James O. Whitney, M. D., of 
Pawtucket, R. I. 



412 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

overpowered by numbers, Captain Pierce and fifty-five English and 
ten Cape Indians were slain on the spot. 

Hubbard states that when Captain Pierce found what danger he was 
in, he sent a messenger to Providence for assistance ; but the message 
not being promjjtly delivered, no relief to the besieged company was 
furnished. Another tradition says a message was sent by Pierce, before 
he left the garrison at Seekonk, by a man who "attended meeting" in 
Providence. This messenger, however, did not arrive at Providence 
until after the service had begun ; he waited until the service was over 
before he delivered his letter to the captain to whom it was addressed, 
and so Captain Pierce and his handful of men had to fight their 
desperate and bloody fight alone. The captain, it is said, fell ' ' earlier 
than many others", and Amos, "one of his friendly Indians", bravely 
and honorably stood by his commander 's side and fought ' ' until affairs 
had become utterly desperate", and then made his escape "by black- 
ening his face with powder ' ', in imitation of the enemy. 

Bliss, in his history of Rehoboth, recounts the escape by strategy of 
several of these Indians. 

There is preserved in the library of the American Antiquarian 
Society at Worcester a letter, written the day after the battle. It 
gives the names of the men who were slain in this fight; it was 
written by the Rev. Noah Newman, a minister of Rehoboth, to the Rev. 
John Cotton, of Plymouth. It is as follows : 

"Rehoboth, 27 of the first, 76. 
"Reverend and dear Sir, 

' ' I received yours dated the 20th of this instant wherein you gave me 
a doleful relation of what had happened with you, and what a distress- 
ing Sabbath you had passed. I have now, according to the words of 
your own letter, an opportunity to retaliate your account with a rela- 
tion of what yesterday happened to the great saddening of our hearts, 
filling us with an awful expectation of what further evils it may be 
antecedaneous to, both respecting ourselves and you. Upon the 25th 
of this instant, Capt. Pierce went forth with a small party of his men 
and Indians with him, and upon discovering the enemy fought him, 
without damage to himself, and judged that he had considerably 
damnified them. Yet he, being of no great force, chose rather to retreat 
and go out the next morning with a recruit of men. And accordingly 
he did, taking pilots from us, that were acquainted with the ground. 
But it pleased the Sovereign Cod so to order it, that they were enclosed 
with a great multitude of the enemy, which hath slain fifty-two of our 
Englishmen, and eleven Indians. The account of their names is as ;. 
follows : j 

"From Scituate, eighteen, of whom fifteen were slain, viz.: Capt. ' 
Pierce, Samuel Russell, Benjamin Chittenden, John Lothrop, Gershom 
Dodson, Samuel Pratt, Thomas Savary, Joseph Wade, William Wil- j 
come, Jeremiah Barstow, John Ensign, Joseph Cowen, Joseph Perry, ' 



The AVars and the Militia. 413 

John Rowse [Rose]. IMarshfield, nine slain, Thomas Little, John 
Earns, Joseph White, John Burrows, Joseph Phillips, Samuel Bump, 

John LoAV, More — , John Brawer. Duxbury, four slain, John 

Sprague, Benjamin Soal, Thomas Hunt, Joshua Fobes. Sandwich, five 
slain, Benjamin Nye, Daniel Bessey, Caleb Blake, Job Gibbs, Stephen 
Wing. Barnstable, six slain, Lieut. Fuller, John Lewis, Eleazer 

C — [probabl^y ClappJ, Samuel Linnet, Samuel Childs, Samuel 

Bereman. Yarmouth, five slain, John INIatthews, John Gage, William 
Gage, Henry Gage, Henry Gold. Eastham, four slain, Joseph Nesse- 

field, John W^alker, John M [torn off], John Fitz, Jr. [Fitch], 

John Miller, Jr. Thomas Man is just returned with a sore wound. 

"Thus, sir, you have a sad account of the continuance of God's dis- 
pleasure against us : yet still I desire steadfastly to look unto him, 
who is not only able but willing to save all such as are fit for his 
salvation. It is a day of the wicked's tryumph, but the same word of 
God tells us his tryumphing is brief. that we may not lengthen it 
out by our sins. The Lord help us to joyne issue in our prayers, in- 
stantly and earnestly, for the healing and helping of our Land. Our 
Extremity is God's opportunity. 

"Thus with our dearest respects to you and Mrs. Cotton, and such 
sorrowful friends as are with you, I remain 

"Your ever assured friend, 

"Noah Newman." 

There is no evidence that any men from Rhode Island participated 
in this fight. 

It would seem that by the middle of IMarch, Providence was nearly 
deserted, its population being reduced from nearlj^ five hundred^ to 
considerably less than fifty." Such of the inhabitants as took up their 
residence on the island could hardly have reached there when the 
attack and burning took place. Authorities differ as to the date even 
of this occurrence. By some it is stated as taking place on March 29, 
while others give the date as IMarch 30. Historians differ, too, as to 
the extent of the calamity. Cotton Mather, in the Magnalia Christi 
Americana, gives the date as the 29th, and the number of houses de- 
stroyed as thirty. 

Perhaps the statement that a good portion of the houses and out- 
buildings in the northerly portion of the compact part of the town 
and nearly all the houses in the outlying country were burned, is as 
nearly correct as it is possible to fix it. Callender in his historical 
address, which was delivered probably in the lifetime of many who 
witnessed the event, says, ' ' Our settlements on the main suffered very 
much, both at Pettaquamscut and at Warwick, and at Providence : 
where the Indians burnt all the ungarrisoned and deserted houses ",■"' 

^Providence Town Papers. 

-Early Records of Providence. 

^Collections R. I. Hist. Society, Callender's Discourse, vol. iv, p. 134. 



414 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

conveying the idea that the only property destroyed was that which 
was unprotected. 

Just what damage was sustained cannot be definitely stated; tradi- 
tion says that the town mill was destroyed and the homes of those who 
had tied to Newport, or to the garrisoned houses, burned to the ground, 
for, as Mather says, "the English retreating into garrison could not 
but leave their homes open to the impressions of the adversary". 

Even with the loss which the town did sustain it had good reason for 
thanksgiving. Roger Williams, in a letter to the town, expresses con- 
gratulations and prayers to "ye most High for your merciful 
preservation in & through these late bloudy & burning tymes",^ for it 
does not appear that any life was lost during this attack, but it is re- 
corded that "Thomas Roberts, for fear of dangers by ye Indians, 
transported himself to the Island and there died".- He it was who 
was brought wounded and bleeding into the town during the Pequot 
war, and was nursed back to health by the wife of Roger Williams. 
He had gone through one Indian war, and the recollections of it pro- 
duced no desire to take any part in another. 

The individual losses of the people were great, their houses, stock 
and personal belongings were entirely destroyed and the accumula- 
tions of years taken from them. The townspeople struggled for many 
years in recovering from their loss, and the Colony, out of considera- 
tion for the impoverished condition of Providence, made due allowance 
in the Colony rate. 

It was not until after Providence had sustained its loss that the 
Colony officers paid any attention to the requests and demands for aid, 
and then only when Capt. Arthur Fenner, who, smarting under the 
loss which the town had suffered by reason of this lacK of interest, 
besides having lost his own home, repaired to Newport and laid the 
condition of affairs before the Colony officers. 

At the session of the General Assembly, held at Newport the 3d of 
May, 1676, a committee, consisting of Mr. John Easton, assistant, and 
"Mr. George Lawton, one of the Deputys", was appointed to proceed 
to Providence and ascertain the wants of the town as to the establish- 
ment of a garrison ; this was in response to a petition from the town 
which had been presented to that body, and was nearly three months 
after the attack and burning. 

This committee evidently attended to their duty promptly, for at 
the adjourned meeting, June 14, the following vote was passed. It is 
represented here in full, to show the change of mind that had come 
over the authorities since the first representation had been made, and 
since the town had felt the full effect of the "impressions of the adver- 
sary": "Voted, upon the presentation of several of the in- 

^Providence Town Papers. 
*Ibid. 



The Wars and the Militia. 415 

habitants of the towne of Providence to this present Assem- 
bly for settlings of garrisons in the said towne, the Assem- 
bly well resentinge the matter, and upon searious considera- 
tion and debate, doe order and declare (for the maintaininge the Kings 
interest in this his Collony of Rhode Island and Providence planta- 
tions, and according to the trust reposed in us by his majesty in his 
gracious Charter granted,) that one garrison shall be settled in said 
town of Providence consisting of seven men with a Commander, which 
shall make up eight ; the said seven shall have allowed them six 
shillings a man, money pay, and the Commander twelve shillings per 
weeke in the same specie; all which charge shall be paid (by) said 
Collony and the house which the Commissioners (thereafter men- 
tioned) shall appoint to be the garrison house, the owner of that house 
shall finde two men (to make the aforesaid number tenn) and to 
maintain them at his owne cost and charge. But in case the garrison 
house should be destroyed or burnt by the enemy (notwithstanding 
their care and dilligence to prevent) they to wit the two men put in 
by their owner of the house have the same satisfaction as the aforesaid 
seven are allowed, that is to say, six shillings per man a weeke to be 
payed by the abovesaid Collony. 

"The Commissioners appointed are Mr. Roger Williams, Captain 
Arthur Fenner, William Harris, and Mr. George Lawton or the major 
part of them whoe with all convenient speed, desired and required to 
repair to the said Providence and there take spciall view of all the 
garrisons in said Providence and that garrison they judge most con- 
venient they are to declare it to be the King's garrison, and to set up 
and use at the charge of said Collony the King's collors there and what 
else garrison or garrisons shall be set up by any belonginge to the said 
Towne, it or they shall be at their owne proper cost and charge, and 
shall be observant and subject to the said King's Garrison. And for 
the better management of the premises this assembly doe ordaine and 
constitute Captaine Arthur Fenner to be the present Captain who shall 
have a Commission for that purpose and if said Captaine hath at any 
time a desire to remove from said garrison (or at his pleasure or discre- 
tion) he hath hereby full power given to nominate and appoint another 
Captain or Leiftenant in his roome out of the garrison aforesaid which 
said Captain or Leiftenant soe nominated and appointed, having the 
said commission assigned to him or a coppy by said first (Captaine it 
shall be as authentick and of as full force and power for him to act in 
the premises as if it were originally granted to him by the Assembly 
further the Assembly doe order that one great gun belonginge to the 
owners of the ship Newport shall by a warrant from the Governor 
pressed and ordered to be sent to Providence to be placed in the said 
King's garrison with fifty pounds of powder and a hundred weight of 



416 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

lead which said powder and lead are not to be embezzled but Kept for 
a reserve against a time of need to repulse the enemy. 

"Voted, the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Recorder are ap- 
pointed and empowered by this Assembly to draw up a commission for 
said Captn Fenner and to be signed by the Governor with the scale of 
the Collony annexed. ' ' 

Surely grave consideration had been given the matter now, but it 
was not until Providence had suffered its loss that the governor and 
his council fully realized that there was a trust reposed in them by 
"his Majesty in his gracious Charter granted", although this very 
charter had in no way been altered or a-mended during the time that 
had intervened. 

Without delay commissioners were appointed, of which Captain 
Fenner was one, to proceed at once to Providence and establish a gar- 
rison, and a commission was forthwith issued to Fenner, giving him 
the command of the Train Band and the garrison to be thus 
established. 

AA^hat these commissioners accomplished is best told in Captain 
Fenner 's own words : 

"The twentie day the bote set forth from Newport. 

"Apon the oune and 20 day of June oune thousand six Hondred 
Seventie and six the Commissioners Mr. Roger "William, Mr. William 
Harris, Mr. George Laotton and Arthur ffenner Arrive at providence 
AVitli a commission to setill the Kings garrison in Providence Towne 
and apon the 23 of the Same month did settel at nathaniell AVatermans 
House the Kings garrison AVith proclamation yt it is so to be : by the 
Kings Authoritie And the men weare Listed M^hich are as folloeth— 
John Morey Thomas fenner Henry Asten AVilliam Lancaster Samuel 
AA^insor. 

"Upon munday the 3 day of July 1676 Arthur ffenner Junr and 
Thomas AVallen were Listed in the Kings gareson at Providence".^ 

That the garrison might be equipped with munitions of war against 
another attack, they confiscated such powder and lead as was in the 
hands of certain townsmen for the use of the troops. 

This garrison was continued until October, 1676, when the whole 
force was discharged by order of the Assembly, no further depreda- 
tions of the Indians against the town having occurred. 

There are preserved many old papers which relate to this episode in 
the state's history, among which are Captain Fenner 's accounts of 
powder and lead and of wages paid ; all showing the careful and sys- 
tematic methods of the old captain. 

There are also some of the bills rendered against the Colony for 
service in the King's garrison, one of which is as follows: 

'Capt. Arthur Fenner's memorandum among Fenner Papers in Providence 
Town Papers. 



The Wars and the IMilitia. 417 

"Due unto Arthur fenner Junnear for seventeene Weeks Services 
in the Kings Gareson at Providence at six shillings per week fiue 
pounds and two shillings money pay 

"Arthur ffenner Captan 
"Providence the 16 Aparill 1677 John Coggeshall Treasurer. 

"Be pleased to pay unto Arthur ffenner junr five pounds & two 
shillings money pay for service in ye Kings Garrison as above exprest 
this 18th of 2d mo called April 1677." 

On "the last day of August" William Lancaster was paid "his 
wagges for his servis" and dismissed; in April following John Morey 
was paid £5-2 for seventeen weeks service at six shillings a week, and 
he, too, was dismissed ; before October doubtless all of the soldiers were 
dismissed from service, for in that month the General Assembly 
formally relieved Arthur Fenner as captain of the King's garrison. 

The royal garrison at Nathaniel Waterman's house no doubt inspired 
confidence among the people, but it was established too late to be of 
service at a time when it was most needed. 

The town records of Rehoboth have entered upon their faded and 
yellow pages this entry, "Robert Beers slain ye 28 march 1676." 

This was the day before the town of Providence was subjected to 
the outrages of the Indians and the day on which Rehoboth was at- 
tacked. It is stated that "Beers was an Irishman and a brickmaker 
by trade, he was very religious but eccentric and superstitious ; upon 
the approach of the Indians he refused to go into the garrison house, 
but set down in his own house with his Bible in hand believing that 
while thus engaged no harm could come to him".^ 

His Christian piety, however, availed him nothing, for he was shot 
at through a window and died with his Bible in his hands. This story 
is interesting when compared with another, published in a volume 
entitled "A new and Further Narrative of the State of New England, 
being a continued account of the Bloody Indian War from March to 
August, 1676, printed in London", wherein it says: "On Wednesday 
they stormed Providence and consumed the greater part of the houses, 
but without taking away the life of any person except one Wright, of 
whom it is reported that he was a man of singular and sordid humor ; 
of great knowledge of the Scriptures, but of no profession, sect or 
persuasion; one that derided W^atches, Fortifications, and all public 
endeavors and administrations for the common safety, insomuch that 
after all alarms round about he refused to bring in any of his goods 
(which were of Considerable value) or to shelter himself in any gar- 
rison, but presumed he should be safe in his own house where the 
enemy found and butchered him. It is further credibly related con- 
cerning him that he had a strange confidence, or rather conceit, that 
whilst he held his Bible in his hand he looked upon himself as secure 
'Stone's Burning of Providence in Prov. Daily Journal, April 10, 1876. 
27-1 



418 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

from all kinds of violence, and that the enemy, finding him in that 
posture, deriding his groundless apprehension or folly therein, ript 
him open and put his Bible in his belly. ' ' 

The similarity of these two stories makes it extremely doubtful if 
two such events occurred. In the latter story it is stated that "On 
Wednesday they stormed Providence"; this serves to more definitely 
fix, the date of the burning, for the 29th day of March, 1676, was 
Wednesday. 

When the letter from Newport was received, advising the people to 
flee from the Island for safety, some of the townspeople were disin- 
clined to abandon their homes, neither did they wish to retreat to any 
of the garrison houses in the compact part of the town, clinging to 
their homes and firesides notwithstanding the threatened dangers. 

One of these was William Arnold, an old man of ninety years of age, 
who lived at Pawtuxet, some distance from the Providence settlement ; 
this fact being brought to the attention of his friends and neighbors at 
Providence, they dispatched a messenger, AVilliam Hopkins by name, 
to apprise him of his danger and urge him to seek some safe retreat. 

Two years after the war Hopkins told his story ' ' about going to per- 
swade him ", in a deposition made before John Whipple, assistant. This 
old document^ is yet extant and is as follows : 

"William Hopldns Aged Thirtyone Yeares or there abouts: and en- 
gaged according to law Tesstifieth as ft'olloweth, That at the beginning 
of the warr they heard at Prouidence that William Arnold of paw- 
tuxett, would not leaue his owne house, then Some Neighbors desired 
this deponant to goe to pautuxett and persvade him to goe to some 
garrison for safety, or goe downe to Roade-Jsland, then this deponant 
sayd he would goe and did not question but to perswade him and soe 
this deponant went to Pautuxett to the house of William Arnold, and 
told the said William Arnold of the danger of the times, and did per- 
swade him to goe to some garrison or downe to Roade-Jsland to his 
Sonns Benedicts but he was very unwilling to leave his owne house, and 
sayd he would not goe downe to Roade-Jsland, but if he must leaue his 
owne house he would go to prouidence, yett after he sayd prouidence 
was soe farr oft' he had rather be nearer home; then this deponant 
Asked him if he would goe to his sonns : Stephens Garrison, and the 
sayd William Arnold sayd he did not care if he did goe theither, and 
soe desired this deponant to goe to his sonn Stephens and call him to 
Come to him and then he would goe with him to his Garrison, then this 
deponant went to his sonn Stephen Arnold and called him, and soe 
presently his sonn Stephen went to his ft'ather and desired his father 
to goe to his Garrison, and the sayd William Arnold did goe alonge 
with his sonn Stephen and this Deponant to his sonn Stephens Gar- 
rison and ffurther this deponant sayth not. 

'Providence Town Papers, 0268. 



The Wars and the Militia. 419 

"Taken upon Engagement this: 16th: day of October: 1678 before 
me John AVhipple Assistant." 

A loss which the town sustained by reason of the Indian attack, and 
one from which it never recovered, was the destruction of a portion of 
its records. 

Such old books of this period as are now preserved, with their torn, 
faded and smoke stained pages, tell of a disaster from which their 
escape must have been almost miraculous. Judge Staples, in his Annals 
of Providence,^ has given a picturesque account of the way in which 
they were mutilated. He says : ' ' The house of John Smith the miller 
. . was on the west side of Moshassuck river, . . Mr. Smith was, 
at that time, town clerk, and the records of the town were then in his 
possession. They were thrown from his burning house into the mill 
pond to preserve them from the flames, and to the present day they 
bear plenary evidence of the two fold dangers they escaped, and the 
two fold injury they suffered". 

This account has been copied from time to time by those who have 
had occasion to refer to the subject, apparently without investigation 
and without doubting the accuracy of the statement. So far as any 
evidence appears there is nothing to warrant this story, but on the 
contrary there is much to disprove it, for records made within a few 
years of the occurrence tell a far different story. The records them- 
selves bear silent testimony to severe usage. They have evidently 
been saturated with water, and one of the books still shows the marks 
where fire has eaten into its leaves and smoke has stained its pages. It 
Avas probably from these facts and the additional one that John Smith, 
the miller, was at the time clerk of the town, that the whole story was 
so ingeniously constructed. 

If the statement of Williams- is true, wherein he gave the names of 
those "that stayed and went not away", then John Smith, the miller, 
was not in the town during the troublesome time, and consequently 
■could not have thrown the books into the mill pond ; but as it appears 
from other records^ that he received "half a share" in the division 
of the Indian captives, he probably was in the town or performed 
some service which entitled him to this. 

It would be an idle tale of fancy to detail the story of their mutila- 
tion ; but there is evidence to show by what means they suffered. 

A petition to the town, without date, in the handwriting of John 
Whipple, contains this preamble: "Whereas by ye Late unhappy 
warrs by ye Indians or Towne Records have been by ye sd Indians 
•defaced and some of them lost".* 

^Annals of Providence, p. 166. 

'Early Records of Providence, vol. viii, p. 12. 

'Providence Town Papers. 

•*Ibid. 



420 State op Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

In 1678 Daniel Abbott, who was then the town clerk, petitioned the 
town meeting for leave to change the records of his land, and he en- 
tered upon the Record book^ the following : 

"Voted & ordered, that whereas ye abovesd desired in his bill to 
have l^ibbertie To Transferr ye Record of ye returne of his Land 
(Layd out by Capt Arthur ffenner Survewor) out of ye old Book (wch 
is much defaced by ye Indians &c) into ye New Booke for the more 
security. The Towne seeth cause to grant his request therein, & Soe 
his Bill is Answered. ' ' 

Ten year after the war Benjamin Hernton presented his petition- 
to the town in the following words: 

"To ye Towne mett Janr ye : 27 1685 : or 6 
"My Desire is yt you would Allow me my full Right of land and 
meadow, according to ye rest of ye 25 Acre men yt came in with a full 
Right of Comoning according to ye order of Jon Brown I conciveing 
I came soe in : and I judge it was so recorded, or neglected : or Elce it 
may be Taken away by ye Jndians they haveing ye books praying yor 
Consideration : hopeing you will not Deny me my request 

"Yors to Serve 

"Benjamin Hernden. " 

From all of this there can be no doubt but what the records fell into 
the hands of the savages, and while in their possession were defaced, 
and thus the story of the heroic act of the town clerk rushing into the 
burning mill to save from destruction the records, entrusted to his 
care, is robbed of some of its interest. 

The remembrances of those past horrors had gradually 
passed away from the memory of the colonists only to be 
recalled in story. New homes were springing up in the hills 
and in the valleys, and new faces entered into the everyday life of the 
settlers. And so their uneventful life went on until the days of King 
William's War, when ugly rumors reached their ears, for the Council 
of War had been hurriedly called together in Providence town, and 
on April 24, 1697, had commissioned several of the townsmen to lead 
scouting parties to "search after the Enemies", because, as the records 
of the council stated, "there hath Ben a late inCurtion & invation 
made upon some of our English plantations : by the Cruel and Barbar- 
ous Indian Enemies whose tender mercies are Cruel ' '. They had seen 
Indian barbarities and had experienced one Indian attack, and in 
order to protect the settlements as much as possible, the Council of 
War commissioned Richard Arnold, John Angell, Edward Smith, 
Samuel Whipple, Thomas Olney, jr., Thos. Fenner, Joseph Stafford, 
James Brown, James Angell, Thomas Hopkins, Benjamin Carpenter, 

'Early Records of Providence, vol. viii, p. 39. 
"Providence Town Papers, 0468. 



The Wars and the Militia. 421 

Joseph Williams, Natlil. Waterman, sr., Nathl. Waterman, jr., John 
Smith, John Brown, Samuel Comstoek, Eleazer Whipple, Thomas 
Olney, Samuel Wilkinson and Roger Burlingame to take command of 
ten men each and "rainge beyond the outmost of our plantations". 
The northern portion of the Colony had by this arrangement a chain 
of guards or scouting parties completely encircling the settled portion 
of the plantations, for an examination will shew that these men were 
located at various points all through the outlying districts. They were 
directed in plain language what their duty was, and there was no 
opportunity for misinterpretation of instructions. 

The memories of the fight at Nipsatchuck, the Providence attack and 
all the horrible details of the former war, were again brought vividly 
before them. There was to be no temporizing, nor any intermediate 
course, but, in the quaint language of the directions given to them, 
they were "to search after the Enemies and Vpon Discovery of anie 
of them you are according to the best of your skill to indevour to 
Resist Expulse Kill and Destroy them according to the best of your 
Indevour but in Cace you judge them to be two strong for you, you 
are to alarem as nianie of your inhabittants as in yor wisdom yu can 
or may ' '. 

But they were not called upon to engage in any hand to hand con- 
flict with the savages, for the war soon after ended, and these old 
Indian fighters were once more back again upon their farms pursuing 
"the noiseless tenor of their way". 

For several years peace reigned in the Colony and the authorities 
were not called upon to provide ways and means for hostile move- 
ments. 

The debt incurred by the former struggles in which the colonists 
bad taken part bore heavily upon them, and the struggling settlements 
had hardly recovered from the losses which they had sustained when, 
on the 4th of May, 1702, England declared war against France and 
Spain. It was not until two months later that this momentous event 
was proclaimed in Rhode Island. 

On the fifth of July Major John Dexter, commanding the military 
forces on the mainland in Rhode Island, issued the following official 
notice to the military authorities proclaiming hostilities : 

"These may inform you that I have receive of our Gouvernor A 
proclamation of warr with orders for all our Military officers attend- 
ance at the reading of the same I intreat your Company with your 
Lieuts Ensigns and Cargants tomorrow at ten of the clock in the fore- 
noon, which is all that offers at present from yrs 
' ' July 5 1702 John Dexter Major. ' ' 

At a council of war, held in Kingstown, March 15, 1703-4, at which 



422 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

most of the commissioned officers in the militia were present, action 
was taken for the defense of the Colony. 

On account of the ' ' great danger and hazard the out inhabitants of 
the respective towns in this colony on the main land are exposed to, 
should they be assaulted by the Barbarious Enemy", for want of 
suitable garrisons to repair to m time of danger, authority was given 
to the toAvns of Providence, Warwick, Westerly, Kingstown and 
Greenwich to erect such garrison houses as shall be considered neces- 
sary for the safety of the inhabitants, the cost of the same to be borne 
by the Colony. The General Assembly of the Colony afterwards repu- 
diated the act, requiring the towns to provide and support their own 
garrisoned houses. 

It was voted to raise at once forty-eight volunteers to go against the 
French and Eastern Indians ; half of this quota was to be Indians and 
half English. The Colony agreed to pay them 12d. per day in addition 
to what the Massachusetts Colony might pay for their services during 
the expedition. Captain Jonathan Turner of Kingstown was ap- 
pointed to command the body. 

Fourteen men were ordered employed in the Colony's service, six 
of whom, on the Main land, were placed under the command of the 
major of the Main land, while the six men appointed for the Islands 
were ordered to be placed at the fort on Goat Island in Newport 
harbor. 

Every military commander was ordered to forthwith furnish to the 
major for the Main and the Islands^ a list of the soldiers in their 
respective commands, and to call the companies together and see that 
each person was provided with arms and ammunition according to law. 

Recruiting stations were established at the houses of the following 
named persons in the several towns in the Colony : Kingstown, at the 
house of Capt. John Eldred and Capt. Edward Greenman; Westerly, 
Capt. William Champlin ; Warwick, Capt. James Greene ; Providence, 
Major John Dexter; Newport, Major Nathaniel Coddington ; Ports- 
mouth, Capt. Joseph Sheffield ; Jamestown, Capt. Edward Carr. 

The military authorities were at once actively engaged in putting the 
Colony's force in good condition to meet any attacks or to respond to 
such calls for their services as might be made. Scouting parties ranged 
the woods in the northern part of the Colony to intercept any hostile 
bands. There is an old order on the town, given by Capt. Thos. Fenner 
of the Third Company of Providence, which gives the name of some of 
these : 

' ' To you James Dexter Treasurer for the Town of Providence these 
to desire you to pay or cause to be payed unto those persons hereafter 
named to Each of them seven shillinggs and six pence for service done 

'The military force of the Colony was divided into two departments, the 
"Main" and "the Islands," a major in command of each. 



The Wars and the Militia. 423 

by them Jn the yeare 1703 on the Horse Scout three dayes a peece att 
two shillings six pence pr day. Samuel Ralph Peter Roberts George 
Potter Given under my hand this 1st of May 1708 

"Thos Fenner Capt." 

From other records of Captain Fenner it appears that "Samuel 
Ralph, George Potter, Zachariah Field, Thomas Garrard, went out on 
the Scout upon the 17 of August 1704. Thos. Fenner Jr. and Thomas 
Garrard went out on the Scout upon the 24 of August, and Henry 
Randall went to joyne with them on the 27tli of August. Richard 
Knight, the Soon of Jonathan Knight, and Richard Knight, the Soon 
of Ann Knight, went forth upon the scout the 1st of September, and 
John Tucker and Thomas Taylor Avent forth upon the scout on the 5th 
of September ' '. 

Newport harbor was further protected by a new fort, afterwards 
called Fort Anne, mounting twelve guns. The proceeds of all for- 
feitures belonging to the general treasury, especially the gold plate 
and money taken from condemned pirates, were appropriated for this 
purpose. This fort was built on Goat Island. During the period of 
hostilities, which continued for eleven years, the coast line of the 
Colony was covered by scouts and permanent garrisons established at 
different points. 

It is recorded that there was provided "3 pots of cyder and one 
gal. of rum" when the soldiers went to Newport on May 31, 1709. In 
later years this quantity of liquid refreshment would hardly been 
sufficient for the annual tours made to Newport in May. 

By order of Maj. Joseph Jenks, in April, 1709, one soldier was or- 
dered to Block Island, representing the quota to be furnished by the 
tOAvn of Providence, and Hezekiah Herinton volunteered for the 
service. 

During the period of the war Rhode Island provided a body of 
scouts for home service, a garrison for the forts at Newport, and fur- 
nished her quota from time to time as called upon to do so. 

In July, 1710, the General Assembly ordered an additional force 
raised for the intended expedition to Port Royal, to the number of 
one hundred and forty-five effective men, apportioned as follows 
among the towns in the Colony : 

Newport, 40, whereof 12 Indians 

Providence, 31 " 8 

Portsmouth, 11 " 3 

Warwick, 10 " 3 

Westerly, 12 " 4 

Kingstown, 31 " 8 

Greenwich, 7 " 3 

Jamestown, 3 " 2 



The Wars and the Militia. 425 

The next month an additional body of troops, consisting of two 
hundred men, was raised for the Port Royal expedition; Lieut.-Col. 
John Cranston and Major George Lee were appointed to the com- 
mand of the force for Rhode Island. A year later one hundred and 
sixty-seven soldiers, besides twelve sailors, for the Canada expedition, 
were ordered enlisted for immediate service. This number was divided 
among the towns in the Colony as follows : Newport 47, Providence 
35, Warwick 10, Kingstown 35, Greenwich 8, Westerly 14, Jamestown 
3, Portsmouth 15. 

It was not until eleven years had passed that the war came to an end 
and the burden of supplying men and money ceased. The Peace of 
Utrecht ended warlike movements and measures, and the next month 
following the signing of the treaty the General Assembly of the Colony 
made provision for disposing of the Colony's stores in the commis- 
sary's hands. All munitions of war with the exception of powder 
were sold or otherwise disposed of ; the powder, however, was ordered 
"put into the treasurers' hands to be secure for the colony". Even 
the great guns belonging to the Colony w^ere laid away to rest, but 
not to rust, for it was ordered that they be brought to the "Governor's 
wharf at Newport, there be tarred and laid on loggs. " 

The General Assembly of the Colony held its session on the 26th 
day of February, 1739-40, at South Kingstown. It was an important 
session. War had been proclaimed by England against the kingdom 
of Spain, and in common with the other English colonies in America, 
Rhode Island had been warned to make suitable and necessary prepara- 
tions in case of invasion by the enemy. The Colony fort in Newport, 
then called Fort George, was at once put in order, the gun platform 
made four feet wider, the powder magazine made tight, the store- 
houses newly floored, and the barracks put in condition suitable to 
accommodate the force which was likely to be ordered there. Twelve 
men under command of Col. John Cranston were provided as a per- 
manent garrison. An additional force of thirty-eight men was enlisted 
to be called upon in an emergency to reinforce this temporary com- 
mand. The field officers of the militia in the several counties in the 
Colony were empowered to enlist or impress ten men in each county 
to serve on Block Island for a "space of six months", to assist the 
inhabitants against any raid by the enemy. 

Six heavy guns on the island were ordered mounted on carriages 
and placed in position for use. A substantial coast guard was pro- 
vided to watch the ocean for suspicious vessels. To accommodate this 
important force, watch-houses, eight feet square and six feet stud, 
Avere built at Castle Hill, Brenton's Point, Sachuest Point, the Island 
of Conanicut, Point Judith, Watch Hill, and on the high land in the 
town of Portsmouth. 

In order that the news of the approach of the enemy might be 



426 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

speedily communicated throughout the Colony, beacons were ordered 
erected at different points to be fired in case of danger. One was on 
Block Island, one at Point Judith, one at Watch Hill, one at Beaver 
Tail, one at Newport, and another at Portsmouth. In May following 
provision was made for enlisting men for the war, and enlistment 
officers were appointed for each county in the Colony. Every soldier 
upon enlistment was promised £3 and that he should be exempt from 
all military service for a period of three years after the expiration of 
his term of enlistment. Before the 15th of July the force necessary 
for the expedition against the Spanish possessions in the West Indies 
had been enlisted ; indeed, a greater number had responded to the call 
than was required. Five of the military officers of the Colony, with 
two lieutenants of the British army Avho had been sent to Rhode Island 
for the purpose, were ordered by the General Assembly to immediately 
organize two companies of one hundred men each, and to discharge 
such additional recruits as had enlisted on the best terms that could 
be arranged. A committee was also appointed to provide transporta- 
tion to Newport, so that the troops could embark by the 15th day of 
August. Capt. William Hopkins was appointed to the command of 
one of the companies, with Joseph Sheffield lieutenant. 

Early the next year rumors of impending trouble with France, 
coupled with the actual hostilities with Spain, urged the Colony to still 
further provide for its defense. This year marks a change in the 
custom of electing officers to command the militia of the Colony. For 
3''ears all the military officers had been chosen by the freemen and 
soldiers. The General Assembly, at its session held in Warwick, Jan- 
uary 27, 1741, repealed the law making this provision, and provided 
that in the future the General Assembly, at its annual session in May, 
should choose and elect its military officers. 

The losses by disease and in the repulse at Carthagena had greatly 
reduced the English forces in Cuba, and in October Capt. William 
Hopkins, who had been with the troops in Cuba, arrived in Providence 
with a request to Governor Ward from General Wentworth for addi- 
tional recruits from Rhode Island. He was immediately clothed with 
such authority. The anticipated operations, however, failed, and it 
is doubtful if the additional recruits sailed for the tropics. 

At the session of the General Assembly held at South KingstOAvn, 
February 1, 1741-2, Jahleel Brenton, Godfrey Malbone, Samuel Wick- 
ham, Henry Collins, John Gidley, James Honeyman, jr., John Brown, 
Nathaniel Coddington, jr., Peleg Brown, Charles Bardin, Simon Pease, 
David Chesebrough, Philip Wilkinson, John Freebody, jr., Thomas 
Wickham, Walter Cranston, Seuton Grant and William Vernon pre- 
sented a petition praying that they might associate themselves together 
as a military company and have a charter granted them. Their peti- 
tion was granted, and thus was organized the Artillery Company of 



The AVars and the Militia. 427 

the Town of Newport. This organization has been in continuous 
existence since that date and is the oldest military company in the 
State. In all the wars since its organization members of this command 
have served with distinction, even to the hostilities in the Philippine 
Islands following the war with Spain. 

In the midst of the confusion and doubt attending the hostilities in 
which England and her colonies were then engaged, a letter was 
received by Governor Greene from the Duke of Newcastle, dated at 
AA^iitehall, March 31, 1744, containing the information that war had 
been declared by France against England, and notifying the Colony 
to prepare itself for any emergency. 

The defenses about the Colony were strengthened and a closer watch 
was kept on the seaboard. In order to co-operate with Governor Shirley 
of Massachusetts in the expedition against Louisburg, Khode Island 
ordered a force of one hundred and fifty men raised for land service. 
Godfrey Malbone was authorized to raise a regiment of three hundred 
and fifty men to be in the pay of the Massachusetts Colony. A portion 
only of the troops sent on this expedition arrived in time to take part 
in the fight. Sickness and the casualties at Louisburg so depleted the 
quota from Rhode Island that in March another levy was ordered of 
three companies. 

Preparations were made for a general invasion of Canada, and addi- 
tional troops were called for to assist in garrisoning forts which the 
English had taken and for the more extensive operations throughout 
Canada. Three additional companies were ordered raised in June of 
one hundred men each for this service, and they were sent forward as 
soon as recruited. 

"While these preparations were going on for the conquest of other 
important points in Canada, the news of an attempt to recapture the 
stronghold at Louisburg by a large French fleet caused the governor 
of Rhode Island to hold the troops raised for Canadian service within 
the Colony. Soon, however, the alarm abated and a detachment was 
sent forward to Annapolis, the troops experiencing most terrible hard- 
ships by reason of storms and bitter cold weather. 

Hostilities ceased in the early part of April, 1748, and the treaty of 
Aix-la-Chapelle followed a few months later. 

AA^hat has been called the old French AVar began in May, 1754. 
Soon after hostilities had commenced the usual levying of taxes for 
carrying on the war began. In August, 1754, a tax of thirty thousand 
pounds was levied to meet these demands, five thousand pounds of 
which was appropriated for repairing the fort at Newport, previously 
called Fort Anne, but now called Fort George. 

Late in the fall of this year New England was called upon to raise 
two thousand men to be under the command of Shirley and Pepperell. 
Of this number Rhode Island promptly furnished one hundred men. 



428 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

A commissary- general was appointed, additional taxes were imposed, 
and more rigorous laws regulating the military atifairs of the Colony 
were adopted. A troop of horse was organized in Newport. The offi- 
cers of this organization were: First Company — Capt. Benjamin 
Sherburne, who afterwards bore a conspicuous part in the Revolu- 
tionary struggle ; Lieut. Harry Sowle, Cornet Joseph Sowle, Quarter- 
master Newby Coggeshall. Second Company — Capt. William Briggs 
(son of Job), Lieut. Israel ShaAV, Cornet Thomas Church, Quarter- 
master William Woodman. 

The calls for men and money to carry on the war now came one 
after another with never ceasing regularity; the already overtaxed 
and war-scarred colonists responded nobly and generously; the same 
spirit of enthusiasm and patriotism inspired them to aid, fight for and 
protect the mother country at this period as did tv/enty years later to 
resist the tyrannical measures that were imposed upon them by the 
same authority. 

At the March session of the General Assembly, 1755, the so-called 
secret expedition to Crown Point was the subject of most profound 
consideration. In order to resist the encroachments of the French 
at this point, it was proposed to erect a strong fort upon the rocky 
eminence near Crown Point, and in order to assist in these operations 
Rhode Island was called upon to furnish four companies of infantry 
of one hundred men each, and at this time provision was made for 
their enlistment and support in the field. 

Christopher Harris was appointed colonel of the so-called regiment, 
and the following officers were appointed to enlist and command the 
four companies: First Company — Edward Cole, captain; Samuel 
Nichols, lieutenant ; Joshua Birl, ensign. Second Company — Robert 
Sterry, captain ; David Dexter, lieutenant ; Thomas Benket, ensign. 
Third Company — Henry Babcock, captain ; Edward Gray, lieutenant ; 
Ichabod Babcock, jr., ensign. Fourth Company— Abraham Francis, 
captain ; John Wardwell, lieutenant ; Joseph Potter of Warwick, 
ensign. 

During the latter part of the summer further demands were made 
upon the Colony for the Crown Point expedition, and three additional 
companies of fifty men each were raised and hurried forward to join 
the troops under the command of Colonel Harris. The raising of this 
additional force was attended with some difficulty. A number of the 
legislators, as well as a large number of the citizens objected to this 
demand upon the Colony's resources. They felt that Rhode Island 
had contributed her part already, and they united in the following 
protest: "We, the subscribers, dissent from the vote for raising one 
hundred and fifty men to be added to them already raised for the 
expedition to Crown Point for the following reason : 

Because we are of opinion, that the four hundred men formerly 



The Wars and the Militia. 429 

voted, are the Colony's full quota; and we are unwilling to load our 
constituents with a burden that we think exceeds their ability to bear 
"Thomas Rogers Edward Scott 

"Benj. Arnold Immanuel Northup 

"William Spencer Samuel Durfee 

"Philip Greene of West Greenwich". 

Notwithstanding this opposition, however, provision was made for 
their equipment and support. 

The officers of these three companies were as follows : Fifth Com- 
pany— Capt. John Whiting, Lieut. Benjamin Hall (son of Nathanael), 
Ensign Benjamin Bosworth. Sixth Company— Capt. Amos Hammond, 
Lieut. Stephen Arnold (of Smithfield), Ensign Joseph Davis (of 
Cumberland). Seventh Company— Capt. William Bradford, Lieut. 
Robert Hopkins (of Exeter), Ensign Jonathan Andrew. 

The losses sustained during the summer of 1745 and the extent 
which the operations had assumed called for still further reinforce- 
ments from all the Colonies. It also created another burden, which 
fell as heavily upon the colonists as these frequent demands for men, 
and that was money. The financial condition of the Colony was de- 
moralized and every new emission of bonds or certificates of indebted- 
ness only increased the financial derangement which had previously 
existed. Nevertheless the Colony met each demand with promptness 
and vigor, and in September the General Assembly ordered four more 
companies enlisted, of fifty men each, and this force was at once sent 
forward to join the main body. Rhode Island now had a regiment in 
the field, consisting of eleven companies and numbering seven 
hundred and fifty men. The officers of these four additional com- 
panies were as follows: Eighth Company — Capt. Daniel BosAvorth, 
Lieut. Christopher Hargill, Ensign William Nichols. Ninth Company 
— Capt. John Patten, jr., Lieut. William Richmond, jr.. Ensign James 
Tew, jr. Tenth Company— Capt. Robert Hopkins, Lieut. Ebenezer 
Cahoone, Ensign Giles Russell. Eleventh Company— Capt. Barzillai 
Richmond, Lieut. Ebenezer Jenckes, Ensign Nathanael Peck. 

In January, 1756, the rigors of a New England winter bore so 
heavily that military operations were practically suspended and the 
greater part of the force in the field was disbanded and the men 
returned to their homes. Rhode Island, however, continued a portion 
of her force in service, retaining one hundred men for home defense, 
while a body of eighty-five men was left at Fort William Henry, near 
Lake George, forming a considerable portion of the garrison there 
maintained during the winter. The service of one of the Colony's offi- 
cers, Capt. John Whiting, was of such a character as to secure for him 
the appointment of "fort major and adjutant of the garrison". 

The lack of success attending the colonial army and the abandon- 
ment of the reduction of Crown Point caused much dissatisfaction 



430 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. j 

among the Colonies. Rhode Island, however, continued to uphold the' 
much berated Shirley and continued her preparations for a more vig- 
orous prosecution of the war when the returning springtime should' 
make military operations less perilous. 

In February, 1756, a new regiment, known as the Rhode Island 
Regiment, was organized for the reduction of Crown Point. Provis-j 
ion was made for a regiment of five hundred men, divided into ten 
companies.^ One of these companies was already in service, being sta-i 
tioned at Fort William Henry. Joshua Brown was appointed second* 
lieutenant of this company, the old Fifth Company. The officers of 
this new regiment were as follows: Col. Christopher Harris, Lieut.-: 
Col. Christopher Champlin, jr.. Major Samuel Angell. Colonel's 
Company — 1st Lieut. Thomas Burkit, 2d Lieut. Elkanah Spear. 
Lieut.-Colonel's Company— 1st Lieut. "William Richmond, jr., 2d 
Lieut. Benjamin Bosworth. Major's Company— 1st Lieut, Silas 
Cooke, 2d Lieut. Mark Noble. First Company— Capt. George Gardi- 
ner, jr., 1st Lieut. John Liscomb, 2d Lieut. James Tew, jr. Second 
Company— Capt. Henry Babcock, 1st Lieut. Giles Russell, 2d Lieut. 
Samuel Hearne. Third Company — Capt. Barzillai Richmond, 1st 
Lieut. Joseph Davis, 2d Lieut. Nathaniel Peck. Fourth Company— 
Capt. John Patten, jr., 1st Lieut. Grindall Rejmolds, 2d Lieut. 
George Sherman. Fifth Company— Capt. Daniel Bosworth, 1st' 
Lieut. Christopher Hargill, 2d Lieut. Edward Tably. Sixth Com-' 
pany — Capt. Amos Hammond, 1st Lieut. Samuel Champlin, 2d Lieut. 
Samuel Rose. Commissary, Rufus Hopkins. Adjutant, Giles Russell. 
Chaplain, Ephraim Starkweather. 

Several of the officers who had served in the former regiment were 
enrolled in the new regiment, some of whom were destined to see 
service in a more bitter war, when they would fight against the arms 
which they were now supporting with fidelity and heroism. 

Meanwhile much energy was directed towards putting the militia of 

'Among the manuscripts in the Rhode Island Historical Society in the 
volumes entitled "Rhode Island Manuscripts", vol. vi, are several of the pay 
rolls of the companies which formed a part of Rhode Island's contribution to 
the war. At page 64 will be found the pay roll of Col. Christopher Harris's 
Company, dated Dec. 21, 1756, containing 48 names; at page 65, that of Lieut.- 
Col. Angell's Company, marked paid off Dec. 20, 1756, containing 50 names; 
at page 66, that of Capt. John Potter's Company, marked paid off Dec. 21, 
1756, containing 45 names. Roll of Capt. Ebenezer Jenckes's Company, which 
is marked paid off Dec. 22, 1756, at page 67, and containing 39 names. An- 
other roll of Capt. Ebenezer Jenckes's Company, dated Dec. 27, 1757, contain- 
ing 78 names, is at page 69. A roll of Capt. Daniel Wall's Company, dated 
Jan. 12, 1758, containing 89 names, is at page 70. A roll of Capt. Ebenezer 
Jenckes's Company, dated Jan. 10, 1759, at page 71. An account of cash paid 
officers and soldiers belonging to Capt. Burkitt's and Capt. Eddy's Companies, 
dated Dec. 26, 1759, containing 78 names, is at page 72. An account of cash 
paid officers and soldiers belonging to Col. Christopher Harris's Company, con- 
taining 155 names, is at page 73. 



The Wars and the Militia. 431 

Ithe Colony on a substantial basis, and the guns at Fort George in 
(Newport harbor were regularly exercised by men who had followed 
the sea as captains of vessels and who, from this service, had had 
much experience in the handling of great guns. 

I In March, 1756, Shirley was superseded as commander-in-chief in 
[America by Lord Loudon, and a more vigorous campaign was ex- 
[pected and begun. He brought with him to America a large force of 
regular troops. It was not until May following that an actual declara- 
tion of hostilities was proclaimed, although the war had been in 
:operation for nearly two years. The enthusiasm which followed the 
, arrival of Loudon was felt throughout the colonies. Rhode Island, 
[however, had never for a moment hesitated in furnishing men or 
\ money to carry on the struggle ; while the other colonies were com- 
plaining and neglecting to furnish their quota Rhode Island had 
; pushed her slender resources to the utmost. Her people, already 
.overloaded by the demands for men to supply her regiments and 
i money to support them, sternly faced the situation and furnished all 
that was demanded or required, and it was credited at the time with 
I furnishing nearer her quota than any of the other colonies. In June, 
1756. two more companies of Rhode Islanders, of fifty men each, were 
put in the field against Crown Point, ^ and in September another regi- 
jment of four hundred men was drafted into service, but this force was 
I not destined to serve, for almost with the order for the regiment to go 
i forward came an order to delay marching ; small-pox had broken out 
among the troops at Albany, and the season was so far advanced that 
further operations were decided to be impracticable. 

In February following, however, another regiment of four hundred 
and fifty men was enlisted for one year, to serve under the command 
of the Earl of Loudon. 

The officers of this regiment were as follows:- Colonel Samuel 
j Angell. First Company— Capt. George Gardiner, jr., 1st Lieut. Chris- 
topher Hargill, 2d Lieut. Isaac Wilbur, jr.. Ensign Israel Peck. 

'A return of the Provincial forces of the several Provinces and Colonies 

: raised for the reduction of Crown Point, dated June 12, 1756, and contained in 

n volume of manuscript relating to the "French and Indian War, 1755-1761", 

in the office of the secretary of state. Providence, shows the strength of the 

Rhode Island forces to be as follows: At Fort William Henry, 2 officers, 43 

men; at Fort Edward, 3 men; at Stillwater, 1 officer, 24 men; fit for duty at 

. Half Moon and Albany, 20 officers, 288 men; on command 1 officer, 24 men; 

sick and invalids, 1 officer, 11 men; on boat and other service, 1 officer, 33 

men; total, 25 officers, 449 men. This volume contains a great number of 

i letters and other official papers relating to the war, and is a most valuable 

[ collection of material relating to this period in the State's history. 

j =Rolls of Capts. Daniel Wall's Co., John Whiting's Co., Jeremiah Greene's 

I Co., Ebenezer Whiting's Co., and Ebenezer Jenckes's Co., for the months of 

1 February, March, April and May, are contained in the volume entitled 

"French and Indian War. 1755-1761", in the office of the secretary of state, 

Providence. 



432 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Second Company— Capt. John Potter, jr., 1st. Lieut. Elkanah Spear, 
2d Lieut. Mark Noble, Ensign Samuel Sanders. Third Company— 
Capt. John Whiting, 1st Lieut. James Tew, jr., 2d Lieut. George Sher- 
man, Ensign Amos Whiting. Fourth Company— Capt. James Greene, 
1st Lieut. Giles Russell, 2d Lieut. Samuel Hearne, Ensign Jetfrey Wil- 
cox, jr. Fifth Company— Capt. Daniel Wall, 1st Lieut. Nathanael 
Peck, 2d Lieut. Edward Tablee, Ensign Abel Gibbs. William Hunter, 
surgeon; Christopher Nichols, surgeon's mate. 

The disaster at Fort William Henry, in August, 1757, caused the 
most intense excitement in the Colonies. On the 14th of August, 
1757, four days after the attack and massacre. Col. Samuel Angell, 
commanding the Rhode Island Regiment, sent a letter to Governor 
Greene of Rhode Island, giving the details of the fight ; in this letter 
he says : 

"The 2d inst., Col. Young, of the third battalion of the royal Ameri- 
cans, and Col. Frye, of the Massachusetts, marched to the lake with 
about thirteen hundred men, which made up the number in camp and 
garrison, to twenty-four hundred, including carpenters and sailors. 

"On the 3d inst., at five o'clock, in the morning, the fort and camp 
were invested by Canadians and Indians ; and at the same time, a large 
body of boats and canoes appeared on the lake near, while our camp 
was attacked by a superior number of the enemy. They landed their 
artillery the same day. Our rangers brought in one of their lieuten- 
ants prisoner who gave account of their strength consisted of three 
thousand regulars, five thousand Canadians, and three thousand five 
hundred savages, thirty-six cannon, and four mortars. 

"The siege continued obstinate till the 9th day at six o'clock, in the 
morning, when all the cannon, bigger than twelve pounders, were 
broken ; the men in camp and garrison, spent with fatigue. They 
capitulated on honorable terms, viz. : that they should march to this 
place with a brass twelve pounder in the front, and their fire-locks 
clubbed, and colors flying, with all their baggage. This was agreed 
to, and articles signed. General Montcalm and other principal officers 
of his army, expressed and acknowledged that they had made a defence 
beyond expectation, and for those reasons, he allowed them as good 
terms as General Blakeney had. The articles obliged ovir men not to 
bear arms till eighteen months were expired. 

"The morning following, our men were to march with a strong 
guard of regulars, to keep the savages from insulting them. When 
our people began to draw up for a march, the horrible scene of mas- 
sacre then began, by the savages scalping our sick and wounded men ; 
next, by their drawing out all the black men, scalping the Indians and 
keeping the negroes for slaves. All this did not satisfy them ; but they 
went to stripping and scalping without distinction ; which put our men 
to the flight, each man for himself —having no protection, agreeably to 
the articles. They all scattered in the woods; the Indians following 
them several miles. Our men have been coming in since eleven o 'clock. 



The Wars and the Militia. 433 

that day, till this morning, by single persons and small parties ; not a 
man but is stripped ; some, quite naked. 

' ' There are yet behind several hundred ; many of whom, it is known, 
are sick, and many, it is thought, will perish in the woods. This min- 
ute, a deserter from the French says that above two hundred of our 
men went back to the French for protection. 

"By our parties just came in, we have certain accounts that the fort 
is destroyed ; and that the enemy are drawing off. We have about four 
thousand militia here, and two thousand troops". 

Eumors of the defeat had reached Rhode Island some time before 
this letter was received, and the General Assembly was already en- 
gaged in making preparations to meet any emergency that might 
occur. 

One-sixth part of all the militia was ordered dispatched to Albany 
"with all possible dispatch".^ All the companies of horse and foot in 
the Colony were ordered to rendezvous in each town on or before Mon- 
day, the 15th day of August, at 12 o'clock. 

The method by which the men were to be selected for this body of 
reinforcements is set forth with much detail in the act passed for 
raising the troops, and as it describes with minuteness the methods 
by which soldiers were drafted in days of the colonial government, a 
portion of it is quoted: "All the following officers shall be included 
in the lists out of which said sixth part is to be drawn, that is to say : 
all fence viewers, supervisors of highways, tield drivers, pound keepers, 
constables, wood-corders, sealers of weights and measures, inspectors 
of wood-corders, sealers of leather, viewers of hoops, staves and head- 
ing, and gaugers, not otherwise excused by law". "That the names 
of all persons in the list of each company, shall be written on a scroll 
of paper, and rolled up, and then put into a hat or box; and one sixtn 
part thereof, shall be drawn (unless the company agree that the com- 
missioned officers shall press said sixth part), and the persons whose 
names shall be so drawn or pressed, shall go on this service". "Any 
person drawn, who declines going, and shall immediately procure an 
able bodied, effective man to go in his room, shall be excused; but no 
person shall be excused without". "No person's name be put into 
the hat or box, who, through sickness or lameness, cannot go, or who 
was out of the government before the meeting of this Assembly". 
' ' The commissioned officers of each and every company in this Colony, 
both horse and foot, if they cannot agree among themselves, who shall 
go, shall determine the same by lot, at the time of drawing the men ; 

'There is a list of the names of the men comprising "that part of the regi- 
ment raised in Rhode Island which marched out of the County of Newport", 
and dated August 18, 1757, in the volume entitled "French and Indian War, 
1755-1761", in the office of the secretary of state, Providence. It shows 113 
men from the town of Newport, 6 from Middletown, 14 from Portsmouth, 21 
from Little Compton; "no return is made from Bristol and Tiverton." 
28-1 



434 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

and the officer or officers so drawn, shall be obliged to go in the said 
regiment". "Any person being duly warned by beat of drum, or 
leaving notice at his place of abode, six hours before the time of meet- 
ing, which shall be deemed sufficient warning, who shall not appear at 
the time and place to which he is warned, shall forfeit and pay as a 
fine, £100 ; to be recovered in manner as abovesaid, by the commis- 
sioned officers, and paid into the toMTi treasury, to and for the use of 
the town". 

The officers selected for this regiment were John Andrews, colonel ; 
Joseph Wanton, jr., lieutenant-colonel; Henry Babcock, second lieu- 
tenant-colonel; Stephen Potter, major. 

The situation now was most disheartening and fears were enter- 
tained that the scenes of carnage would be brought nearer to the New 
England settlements than they had been up to this time. Long before 
this letter was received, in fact the day after it was written, a large 
number of the principal men of Providence drew up and signed the 
following paper: 

' ' Whereas, the British Colonies in America are invaded by a large 
Army of French and Indian enemies, who have already possessed 
themselves of Fort William Henry, and are now on their march to • 
penetrate further into the country ; and from whom we have nothing 
to expect, should they succeed in their enterprise, but Death and 
Devastation. And as his Majestys principal Officers in the parts in- 
vaded, have in the most pressing and moving manner, called on all 
his Majesties faithful subjects for assistance to defend the Country. 

"Therefore, we whose names are underwritten, thinking it our duty 
to do everything in our power for the defence of our Libertys, Families 
and Propertys are willing and agree to enter Voluntarily into the 
service of our Country, and go in a warlike manner against the Com- 
mon enemy and hereby call upon and invite all our Neighbours who 
have familys and Propertys to Defend to Join with us in this under- 
taking, Promiseing to March as soon as we are Two Hundred and 
Fifty in Number, recommending our selves and our Cause to the 
Favourable Protection of Almighty God. 

"Providence August 15 1757 
"Stephen Hopkins Nicholas Brown 

"Obadiah Brown Joseph Brown 

"Nicholas Cooke William Wheaton 

"Barzillai Richmond William Smith 

"Joseph Bucklin Jonathan Clark 

"John Randall Jonathan Ballou 

"John Cole James Thurber 

"Gideon Manchester Amos Rmnicutt 

"Ephraim Bowen Surgeon Nathl Olney 

"John Waterman Joseph Lawrence 

"Joseph Arnold Theophilus AVilliams 



The Wars and the Militia. 435 

"John Bass chaplain John Power 

"John Thomas Junr Benjamin Olney 

"Allen Brown George Hopkins 

"Benoni Pearce Edward Smith 

"Barnard Eddy Joseph Winsor 

"Benjamin Doubleday Joseph Cole".' 

This document shows, as no act of Legislature or other authority 
«an show, the condition of the public mind at this period, and it no 
doubt inspired patriotism and aroused the drooping spirits occasioned 
by the discouraging news which had been received. The fixing of 
their signatures to this paper was no idle boast nor play for effect, for 
every man whose name is attached to that paper is inseparably linked 
with unselfish patriotism and true heroism. They wrought and fought 
for England then ; and they wrought and fought against her tyranny 
in later years. 

It was the intention of the signers to be in readiness to march the 
next day. Already the force under command of Col. John Andrews 
was on its way to Albany; but before these volunteers had started, a 
messenger arrived in Providence bearing a dispatch that the French 
and Indians had gone back and immediate danger had passed. In 
consequence of this, Moses Brown, a brother of Nicholas and Joseph 
Brown, two of the volunteers, was dispatched with orders for their 
return. He overtook them in Smithfield, at the house of the widow 
of Resolved Waterman. 

Of the troops thus far furnished by Rhode Island all but ninety had 
returned home, and this body was now quartered at Saratoga. 

The public business which the Legislature of the Colony was now 
called upon to consider was almost entirely relating to military affairs ; 
the demands for troops were incessant, so incessant, in fact, that enlist- 
ments, which heretofore had speedily followed every call, now began 
to come slowly. Already recourse had been made to the draft; 
bounties and other considerations now were resorted to in order to 
stimulate enlistments. 

A letter from the Crown dated December 30 did not reach the gov- 
ernment in Rhode Island until March 13, 1758. It was a request for 
additional troops to co-operate with the king's army in America in 
carrying the war into the enemy's country, and the General Assembly 
fl "being highly sensible of His Majestys Natural goodness and willing 
to exert themselves to the utmost of their ability for promoting the 
service", promptly ordered another regiment of one thousand men. 

Many of the officers already in service were retained in this regi- 
ment, and as most of their names have already been mentioned else- 

'The copy from which this is made was deposited in the archives of the 
Rhode Island Historical Society by Moses Brown, he considering it well worth 
preserving. He had not added all the names of the signers to his copy. 



436 State of Rhode island and Providence Plantations. 

where, the reader is referred to the ' ' Civil and Military Lists of Rhode 
Island", at page 203, where all the officers' names will appear. This 
regiment, a few weeks later, was ordered sent forward to Albany. 

The summer of 1758 brought a victory which brightened the hearts 
of the colonists and encouraged them to still further exertion. Louis- 
burg, after a gallant defense, surrendered. For some weeks before 
the expedition started to reduce this place nearly two thousand British 
troops were quartered in Providence. "With the local militia and this 
large body of regular troops, Providence, with a population of less 
than 3,500 souls, was sorely pressed by this burden, but from no record 
can there be found evidence to show that one word of complaint was 
uttered ; it was one of the incidents of war, and the people had already 
become inured to the hardships of the struggle. 

Simultaneously with the attack at Louisburg, a large force of Eng- 
lish advanced on Fort Ticonderoga, and on the 8th of July, 1758, this 
stronghold was attacked. A desperate battle ensued, lasting four 
hours. Nearly two thousand of the English force were either killed 
or wounded, and the British commander, much to the surprise of his 
officers, retreated to Fort William Henry, and soon after he was re- 
lieved of his command. In this bloody battle the Rhode Island troops 
played a conspicuous part and suffered heavily in killed and wounded.^ 
Colonel Babcock, Capt. John Whiting, Lieut. Russell, and Lieut. 
Smith were among the wounded. On the 10th Colonel Babcock dis- 
patched the following graphic account of the battle to Governor 
Hopkins : 

"The 5th inst., the army, consisting of fifteen thousend men, pro- 
ceeded down the lake, in batteaux, with thirty days' provision. The ^ 
6th, in the morning, half after eight, we landed at the advance guard; 
who were very easily driven from their post, with no loss on our side, 
and but four on theirs. About two o'clock, P. M., the whole army 
marched, saving a battalion of the York regiment, who were posted as 
a guard on our batteaux. About three o'clock, we were attacked by a 
party of the enemy, in which engagement, we unfortunately lost the 
brave Lord Howe. There were taken of the enemy one hundred pris- 
oners, eight of whom were officers ; our army was much scattered by 
reason of the firing in the woods, and it was thought advisable to re- 
turn that evening to our batteaux. 

"The next day, Col. Broadstreet was ordered with fifteen hundred 
batteaux men, and two regular regiments, with five of the ]\Iassa- 
chusetts regiments, to take possession of the saw mill, which we did, 
without the loss of a man. The same evening, the whole marched up 
to the saw mill. 

"The 8th, (the fatal 8th,) were ordered to proceed in the following 

'Colonel Babcock, in his report of the battle to Governor Hopkins, July 10, 
1758, submitted a list of the killed and wounded, but unfortunately this list 
has disappeared from the archives of the State. 



The Wars and the Militia. 437 

manner: the batteaux men, light armed infantry, and the rangers, 
,vvere ordered to form a line abont two hundred yards from the French 
entrenchments ; which extended from Lake George to Lake Champlain ; 
the regulars were to form a line behind the first line ; who, after they 
were formed, were to pass through the first line, they making avenues 
for them ; after that, they were to form the line again. A captain and 
fifty men, out of the line, were detached for picket, who were to form 
in front ; the grenadiers were to form behind them ; and in this manner, 
they were to attack the trenches, and were to march with shouldered 
[firelocks, till they should get on top of the trenches. 

"They accordingly marched on with great intrepidity, but were re- 
fceived so warmly, that they were obliged to give ground, after making 
'most vigorous efforts ; they even went up to the breast-work, but were 
knocked down so fast, that it was veiy dii^cult for those behind to get 
over the dead and wounded. But before the attack of the regulars, 
the enemy began with firing upon the Yorkers. In the rear of the 
regulars, the Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island troops were 
lordered to form about three hundred yards behind, who were to sup- 
port them, if necessary. 

"About an hour after the attack, I was ordered to march with the 
[regiment, to relieve those that had been engaged. We went up within 
'about forty yards of the breast-work. Soon after I got up, in posting 
■ray regiment to the best advantage I could, I received a shot in my left 
knee ; after that, finding myself of no advantage, I ordered two men 
,to carry me off, and left the regiment warmly engaged. We have lost 
ino officers. Capt. John Whiting, Lieuts. Russell and Smith are slightly 
iwounded. The return of the killed and wounded. Your Honor, is 
enclosed. 

"The same evening, to my great surprise, the whole army was or- 
dered to return to the batteaux, to the great mortification of chief of 
the officers; and the next evening we arrived here. 

"Never did an army gain more advantage in so little time, whilst 
the late Lord Howe was alive ; but soon after that, we became a con- 
fused rabble. We have lost a great many brave officers; in Lord 
Howe's regiment, all the field officers were killed. 

"Sir William Johnson joined us four hours before the engagement; 
but the Indians not being used to attack trenches, soon came off". 

1 A month after the repulse at Ticonderoga an expedition was planned 
'against Fort Frontenac, where is now located the town of Kingston; 
the brilliancy and success of this aft'air did much to relieve the de- 
'pression caused by the disaster at Ticonderoga. Major Daniel Wall, 
'who served with the Rhode Island troops in this expedition, thus 
describes the attack : 

"Three thousand troops, with four brass twelve pounders, and two 
-howitzers, set out on the 14th August, on a secret expedition, under the 
command of Col. Broadstreet ; out of which number, there were three 



438 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

hundred and twelve from the Rhode Island regiment. We proceeded 
to Oswego, wuth the utmost dispatch, and crossed part of Lake 
Ontario; and on the 25th, we landed in high spirits, on an island, in 
open sight of Fort Frontenac and their shipping— a brig and schooner 
(partly rigged). 

"Col. Broadstreet immediately sent a whaleboat to reconnoitre the 
shore, and find a proper place to land. The whaleboat returned, and 
thought it impracticable to attempt to land before the evening, by 
reason of the very great surf. Provisions were then issued, and the 
people employed in cooking. 

"At about seven, in the evening, landed the whole troops, about a 
mile distant from the fort, without being opposed. The rangers and 
Indians, who were about two hundred, scouting in the woods ; and an 
attempt was then formed to board the brigantine and schooner, with 
whaleboats ; but as they warped in under the fort, it was thought im- 
practicable to attempt it. The troops were under arms all that night, 
in the front of the batteaux; and about eight, next morning, all our 
artillery were landed and fixed in their carriages. About ten, began 
to cannonade, under cover of a hill, about seven hundred yards dis- 
tant ; the enemy firing hot, but without doing execution. 

"As soon as it Avas dusk, we approached up to a breast-work of the 
enemy, erected at the time that Oswego was garrisoned, through which 
we cut embrasures ; and at day-break began to throAV shells, which 
continued very warm till seven o'clock, the enemy firing very warm, 
both with their cannon and small arms, when we perceived them 
endeavoring to escape with the vessels. We immediately brought two 
twelve pounders to play on them, which shattered them very much, 
and all the crew on board took to their boats, and made off, and 
suffered the vessels to drive on shore. Then the garrison sent out to 
surrender, and were suff'ered to take what things they could carry off 
in batteaux, and to go to Swercorchche ( Oswegatchie ) . 

"We were all day employed in getting the valuable things out; and 
in the evening, in demolishing the fort, burning the vessels, &c., that 
were rigged; which were tM^o snows, two schooners and three sloops. 
The brigantine and schooner were soon got off ; and next morning left 
the place on fire, and proceeded with them to Oswego, where they 
arrived that night, and the whole fleet the next. 

"There was an immense quantity of provisions, which they were 
going to transport to Frankfort and Niagara, and their other forts ; 
the want of which, will distress them very much". 

The troops from Rhode Island did not participate in the fall and 
winter campaign. Instead, hoAvever, of disbanding the troops during 
the season of inactivity, as had been the custom previously, the General 
Assembly continued all the men in pay, discharging only the higher 
officers. In February following, orders were received in Rhode Island 
to concentrate the Rhode Island regiment at Albany by the 10th of 
April, and the Legislature at once made preparations for furnishing 



The Wars and the Militia, i :: n . 439 

one thousand men in thirteen companies. The time occtipied in going 
from Providence to Albany at that period was upwards of two weeks, 
and the force was ordered to be ready to leave by the 25th of March. 

This regiment was raised for the reduction of Crown Point. The 
officers appointed for the regiment were: Henry Babcock, colonel; 
Daniel Wall, lieutenant-colonel/ John Whiting, major. Colonel's 
Company— 1st Lieut. Edward Talbee, 2d Lieut. Joseph Stanton, jr., 
Ensign Wm. Bennett. Lieut.-Colonel's Company— 1st Lieut. Tibbetts 
Hopkins, 2d Lieut. Benjamin Carr, Ensign Stukely Stafford. Major's 
Company— 1st Lieut. AVilliam Sheehan, 2d Lieut. Daniel Byrn, Ensign 
Thomas Swinburne, jr. Fourth Company— Capt. Thomas Burkett, 
1st Lieut. Jonathan Spear, 2d Lieut. Moses Bowdich, Ensign Arthur 
Fenner, jr. Fifth Company— Capt. James Tew, jr., 1st Lieut. Thomas 
Tew, 2d Lieut. Abner West, Ensign George Cornel (son of Clarke). 
Sixth Company— Capt. Samuel Rose, 1st Lieut. Caleb Tripp, 2d 
Lieut. Moses Warren, Ensign Records Tabor. Seventh Company— 
Capt. Nathanael Peck, 1st Lieut. Thomas Rose, 2d Lieut. Solomon 
Rolfey, Ensign Nathanael Rice. Eighth Company— Capt. Thomas 
Fry, jr., 1st Lieut. Thomas Jenkins, 2d Lieut. Samuel Watson, jr., 
Ensign Asa Bowdich. Ninth Company— Capt. Benjamin Eddy, 1st 
Lieut. Samuel Saunders, 2d Lieut. Thomas Collins, Ensign Asa Kim- 
ball. Tenth Company — Capt. Christopher Hargil, 1st Lieut. Samuel 
Stoneman, 2d Lieut. Fambulain Campbell, Ensign John Manchester 
of Portsmouth. Eleventh Company— Capt. Joshua Brown, 1st Lieut. 
Giles Russell, 2d Lieut. Samuel Champlain, Ensign John Beverly. 
Twelfth Company— Capt. William Tripp, 1st Lieut. Mitchel Case, 2d 
Lieut. Samuel Weatherby, Ensign Nathan Bliven. Thirteenth Com- 
pany— Capt. Moses Palmer, 1st. Lieut. Israel Peck, 2d Lieut. William 
Palling, Ensign Peleg Slocum. Lieut. Giles Russell was appointed 
adjutant of the regiment. Thomas Rodman, son of Clarke, was ap- 
pointed surgeon, with Benjamin Brown and Thomas Munro surgeon's 
mates. Joseph Holloway was appointed commissary and sutler. 

The Rhode Island Regiment was recruited up to its full strength 
and one hundred and fifteen men were sent to Albany to join the main 
body. A return of the regiment made by Colonel Babcock and dated 
at Lake George, July 10, 1759, shows its strength to be 689 officers and 
enlisted men. 

A vigorous campaign for the conquest of Canada was now going on. 
Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point were already in the hands of the 
English troops, and a large force under command of General Wolfe lay 
before Quebec. For two months the English army manceuvered before 
the city, waiting for reinforcements, which never came. At last, tired 
of waiting longer, AVolfe, under cover of night, sent his army up over 

'Lieut. -Col. Wall did not join his regiment and was retired by a court 
martial to be cashiered. See R. I. Colonial Records, vol. vi, p. 176-219. 



440 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the rocky heights above the city, and on the Plains of Abraham, on the 
13th of September, the two armies engaged in battle. It was a bloody 
and disastrous action, in which both commanders, Montcalm and Wolfe, 
lost their lives. Five days later, on the 18th, Quebec capitulated. The 
war was drawing to a close ; in order to hasten it, additional levies were 
made upon the Colonies. Another regiment was required for the final 
stroke, and in January, 1760, the Legislature of Rhode Island made 
provisions for a regiment to be raised for the reduction of Montreal. 
The officers selected, with some few exceptions, were men who had 
already been in service for a long time.^ Col. Christopher Harris was 
placed in command. It was not until September following that Mon- 
treal surrendered, and the long war was at an end. The next month 
the General Assembly voted to disband its military force raised for the 
war as soon as it was discharged from service by the commander-in- 
chief. A day was set apart for thanksgiving and praise, and the re- 
turn of peace was celebrated with great rejoicing. 

With the acquisition of new territory a larger military force was 
required to protect it, and the Colonies were called upon to supply in 
part this force. 

The Legislature of Rhode Island, in March, 1760, ordered a seven 
company regiment of six hundred and sixty-six men raised for the 
purpose. John Whitney was appointed colonel, and a good portion of 
the officers who had served in the regiments heretofore raised were 
given commissions.- 

Two years later the war against the Spanish possessions in the West 
Indies caused a demand on the Colony for additional troops. The 
quota assigned to Rhode Island was 178. At the same time a regiment 
of 666 men was ordered raised. Samuel Rose was appointed colonel.-'' 

In April, 1762, two hundred and seven men were ordered sent from 
Rhode Island to take part in the expedition against Cuba, under the 
command of General Amherst. This body of Rhode Island troops was 
commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Hargill.* 

A return made by General Amherst of the troops to be levied, those 
actually raised, and those to remain in service during the winter, for 
the year 1762 in the Colony, gives the number to be levied 666, number 
raised 653, number served in winter 64 ; this latter force was ordered 
to Fort Stanwix. 

In an account of the "Capture of Havana in 1762", by Walter 

^The list of commissioned officers will be found in the "Civil and Military 
List of Rhode Island, 1647-1800", at pages 214-215. 

2 For list of officers see "Civil and Military List of Rhode Island, 1647-1800", 
p. 223. 

3 The names of other officers will be found in the above quoted volume at 
page 228. 

*A partial list of the soldiers who participated in this expedition is in the 
custody of R. H. Tilley, state record commissioner. 



The Wars and the Militia. 441 

Kendall Watkins, in which is included the Orderly Book of Lt.-Col. 
Israel Putnam for the campaign, published in the "Year book of the 
Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of I^Iassachusetts for 
1899, publication No. 5", the following list is printed: 

' ' List of the Dead in the Rhode Island Detachment consisting of 212, 
officers included, at the Havannah. 

"Lieut, Asa Bodwitch, Lt. Thomas Rose, 3 sergeants, 5 corporals, 
2 drummers, 100 private men. All of whom died^of sickness, except- 
ing two, who were killed by the enemy besides 3 wounded". 

In this expedition, as in that to the same locality nearly one hundred 
and forty years later, disease wrought more havoc than the bullets of 
the enemy. 

At the outbreak of the War of the Revolution the active military 
force of Rhode Island consisted of the several companies of the Train 
Bands and of independent chartered military organizations, bearing 
liigh-sounding names, like the North Providence Rangers, Scituate 
Hunters, Pawtuxet Rangers, Providence Grenadiers, Kentish Guards, 
and some others. According to the standard of the times, these com- 
panies were well equipped and well disciplined. The officers were 
elected at stated times by the members of the companies and their 
choice communicated to the General Assembly, which body approving 
the choice, they were duly commissioned by the governor. These offi- 
cers were generally selected with due regard to their skill and ability, 
and were men of some prominence in the community in which they 
lived. Except such as had seen service in the previous wars, most of 
the soldiers' experience had been obtained at the general musters or 
trainings. 

Immediately after the Concord and Lexington fight, the General 
Assembly of Rhode Island ordered an Army of Observation of fifteen 
hundred men to be raised, "with all the expedition and despatch that 
the nature of the thing will admit of", and all the militia in the State 
was ordered to drill a half -day once in every fortnight. This Army 
of Observation, as it was politely called, was raised for the purpose of 
repelling any "insult or violence that may be oifered to the inhabit- 
ants" by the fleets and armies which surrounded them— the fleets and 
armies of His Britannic Majesty. Those who entered the army did so 
by subscribing to this oath of enlistment : 

"I, the subscriber, hereby solemnly engage and enlist myself as a 
soldier in His Majesty's service, and in the pay of the colony of Rhode 
Island, for the preservation of the liberties of America, from the day 
of my enlistment, to the last day of December next, unless the service 
admit of a discharge sooner, which shall be at the discretion of the 
General Assembly ; and I hereby promise to submit myself to all the 
orders and regulations of the army, and faithfully to observe and obey 
^dl such orders as I shall receive from time to time from my officers". 



442 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

This entire army was, therefore, enlisted in the King's service. 

This was the beginning of Rhode Island's contribution to the Con- 
tinental Army, and during the whole struggle her contributions were 
prompt and generous.^ 

The Army of Observation was at once dispatched to the seat of war 
at Boston, and went into camp at Jamaica Plain. Here Nathanael 
Greene, who had been elected brigadier-general, assumed command. 
He found his troops in commotion and disorder ; but, through his skill- 
ful management and great personal influence, order was restored and 
a high grade of discipline thereafter maintained. 

Notwithstanding the hurried way in which the Rhode Island brigade 
had been placed in the field, it was the best equipped force in the 
army. ChaplainWilliam Emerson, of Concord, Mass., an observing 
man, who visited from time to time the various commands and made 
notes of what he observed, says : "The Rhode Islanders are furnished 
with tent equipage, and everything in the most exact English style". 
With the discipline which Greene 's personality inspired, and the com- 
pleteness of its equipment, the Rhode Island division of the Con- 
tinental Army was marked and noticeable. 

About the first of July the army from Rhode Island consisted of 
three regiments, comprising 107 officers and 1085 enlisted men— nearly 
the whole number that had been called for. It is within bounds to say 

'The regiments of the Rhode Island Line and the officers thereof were as 
follows : 

First Rhode Island. 
Colonel James M. Varnum, 3d May, 1775, to December, 1775. 
Lieutenant-Colonel James Babcock, 3d May, 1775, to December, 1775. 
Major Christopher Greene, 3d May, 1775, to December, 1775. 
[During the year 1776 the first Rhode Island regiment was called the Ninth 
Continental Infantry ; its officers were : 

Colonel James M. Varnum, 1st January, 1776, to 31st December, 1776. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Crary, 1st January, 1776, to 31st December, 
1776. 

Major Christopher Smith, 1st January, 1776, to 31st December, 1776.] 
Colonel James M. Varnum, 1st January, 1777, to 27th February, 1777. 
Colonel Christopher Greene, 27th February, 1777, to 14th May, 1781. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Adam Comstock, 1st January, 1777, to . 

Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Ward, 26th May, 1778, to 1st January, 1781. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremiah Olney, 1st January, 1781, to close of war. 
Major Henry Sherburne, 1st January, 1777, to 12th January, 1777. 
Maj<T Samuel Ward, 12th January, 1777, to 26th May, 1778. 
Major Ebenezer Flagg, 26th May, 1778, to 14th May, 1781. 
Major Coggshall Olney, 25th August, 1781, to 17th March, 1783. 
Major John S. Dexter, 25th August, 1781, to close of war. 
[After the death of Colonel Greene, in May, 1781, this organization was 
known as Olney "s Rhode Island Battalion.] 

Second Rhode Island. 
Colonel Daniel Hitchcock, 3d May, 1775, to December, 1775. 
Lieutenant- Colonel Ezekiel Cornell, 3(1 May, 1775, to December, 1775. 
Major Israel Angell, 3d May, 1775, to 31st December, 1775. 



The Wars and the Militia. 443 

tliat during the years of the war, every loyal able-bodied man in Rhode 
Island, between the ages of sixteen and sixty, performed his share of 
military service, while there are instances where those even younger 
and older served faithfully in the army and in the coastguard. 

Committees Avere appointed to take an account of the powder, arms 
and ammunition throughout the Colony, including private arms as 
well as those belonging to the public stock, and every man in the 
Colony was ordered to equip himself completely. The old queen's 
arm, that had hung on the wall covered with dust and grime, was taken 
from its resting place, cleaned and brightened, and noted in the "list 
of arms fit for use". All was excitement and activity in the militia. 
"Not a day passes, Sundays excepted", says the Providence Gazette, 
"but some of the companies are under arms, so well convinced are the 
people that the complection of the times renders a knowledge of the 
military art indispensably necessary". The Continental Army, when 
it took the field, was so curiously uniformed and equipped that it at 
once attracted the attention of the officers of the well-organized regi- 
ments that had been sent out from England, and caused them much 
amusement. "No regiment is properly uniformed or armed. Every 
man has a common gun ' ', wrote one of the British officers. 

The news of the battle of Bunker Hill filled the inhabitants of Rhode 
Island with terror and alarm. A peaceful adjustment of the griev- 
ances of the Colonies was now impossible. The blow had been struck ; 
and if, before, diplomacy could have averted the impending storm, the 
time had passed for such a settlement. 

The first act of precaution taken at Providence was the erection of 
a beacon to alarm the country about, in case of the approach of an 
enemy. The action was taken at a town meeting held on July 3, 1775. 

[The Second Ehode Island Regiment in 1776 was known as the Eleventh 
Continental Infantry ; its officers were : , „^„ , ^, , -r^ , .^.r.. 

Colonel Daniel Hitchcock, 1st January, 1776, to 31st December 1 ^ <6. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Ezekiel Cornell, 1st January, ln6, to 31st December, 

' 'Major Israel Angell, 1st January, 1776, to 81st December, 1776.] 
Colonel Daniel Hitchcock, 1st January, 1777, to 13th January 1 ' ' 7. 
Colonel Israel Angell, 13th January, 1777, to 1st January 1 -81. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Israel Angell, 1st January, 1- ^^"^7 f. JfT^n.^Vi 1781 
Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremiah Olney, 13th January, 1-77, to 1st Januaiy, 1.81. 
Major Simeon Thayer, 1st January, 1777, to 1st January, 1-81. 
Third Rhode Island. 

Colonel Thomas Church, 3d May, 17'•'^^to^ecember. 177.5^ 
Lieutenant-Colonel William T Miller, 3d May 1775,Jo Decembei, lu5 
Maior John Forrester, 3d May, 1775, to December, 1 - -o. ...., ^. .,„■ 

January 1, 1781. the First and Second Regiments were consolidated and this 
regiment was known both as the Rhode Island Reg^l^^t and Olney s Rl^ode 
Island Battalion. In addition to these regiments ot the li^«; . I^^^^^^^, g^^^^ 
maintained a large body of State Troops, which ^^'^J'' ^^'^J{;^ ^^^^^^^^ 
State during a greater portion of the period of t^ie wai Neaily very^ m^ 
capable of bearTng arms was called upon to do service m these organizations. 



444 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

A week later a committee, consisting of Joseph Brown, Joseph Bucklin, 
and Benjamin Thurber, was appointed to "erect a beacon on the hill 
to the eastward of the town to alarm the country in case of an enemy's 
approach". 

The hill selected for the location of this beacon was that now called 
Prospect or College Hill, and the spot was near what is now the corner 
of Prospect and Meeting streets. A beacon had been erected here 
more than a century before, in May, 1667, during the troublesome 
times with the Indians. This undertaking was commenced at once. 
The Providence Gazette, on July 29, 1775, informed its readers that 
"a beacon is now erecting on a very high hill in the town by order of 
the Honorable General Assembly. A watch is likewise kept on Tower 
Hill in case of any attempt by water from our savage enemies". 

On the 20th of July, 1775, news of a startling nature was received 
from Newport. The British ships, under the command of Capt. James 
Wallace, lay in a line of battle, with the intention of bombarding the 
town. The greatest excitement prevailed throughout the Colony. Two 
days later the British commander, probably realizing the importance 
of Newport as a rendezvous, abandoned this intention and withdrew 
his fleet. 

At Providence the news of the departure of Wallace was gladly wel- 
comed; for, had the British commander desired, nothing was in his 
way to prevent his vessels from sailing into the harbor and laying 
waste all within his reach, for the defenses of the town were entirely 
inadequate to cope with the British ships. 

Newport had been left unharmed, but no one knew how soon the 
fleet would return. In consequence of this proposed attack, the in- 
habitants of Providence resolved to take immediate action toward the 
town's further defense. A town meeting was convened July 31, 1775, 
and the Hon, Nicholas Cooke chosen moderator; little business other 
than that appertaining to the defense of the town was transacted at 
this meeting. Fortifications were ordered built at Fox Hill, at Fox 
Point, and intrenchments and breastworks were ordered "to be hove 
up between Field's and Sassafras points of sufficient capacity to cover 
a body of men ordered there on any emergency". Capt. Nicholas 
Power was directed to superintend their construction, and was ordered 
to advise and consult with Capt. Esek Hopkins, Ambrose Page, Capt. 
John Updike, Samuel Nightingale, jr., Capt. William Earle and Capt. 
Simon Smith, who were made a committee on the manner of building 
these fortifications. A battery of six 18-pounders was ordered to be 
located at the Fox Hill fort, and four cannon to be mounted as field- 
pieces. 

This committee was also ordered to draw up a set of rules for the 
conduct of the Fox Point Battery, and this they did, presenting it at 
the town meeting, August 29, 1775, for its approval. It is a most 



The Wars and the Militia. 445 

remarkable military paper, and shows the crude way in which such 
affairs were managed in the early days of the Revolution. It is as 
follows : 

"Regulations of the Fox Point Battery DraAVTi by Committee Pre- 
sented to the Town in Town Meeting August 29 1775. 
"Voted one capt E. Hopkins be appointed to eommd the Battery at 
Fox Hill 

"Voted one left that Samuel Warner 
"Voted one gunner Christopher Sheldon 

" do 7 men to each gun Including officers that such be select 'd from 
the town Inhabits, as are acq'd with the use of Cannon and doe not 
belong to Any of the Independt. Companys who Attending this Duty 
be excused from the Militia Duties. 

"Voted that the Battery compy Appt a capt & gunner for Each Gun 
out of their compy. 

"Voted that upon any person quiting the Battery compy the officers 
thereunto Belonging have power to sellect others as above said to keep 
their number complete 

"Voted that two Persons be app'd to Guard said Battery on Day who 
shall attend there on morning to Relieve the Night watch and Tarry 
until the Evening watch is Sett. 

"Voted that the Great Guns be No & Each persons name who belong 
to said Guns be Wrote on a Card & stuck on the Gun they may belong 
to that they may know where to repair in case of an Alarm. Vot'd 
that the Capt. Lieut & Gunner of said Battery have the Care of pre- 
paring & keeping the Stores Belonging Thereto in Good Order 
"Voted that the Battery Compy Exercise their cannon once a month 
or oftener to Perfect themselves in the use of Great Guns. 

"It is recommended that 2 more 18 pounders be mounted at the 
Battery at Fox Hill. 

"William Earle 

"Simon Smith 

"John Updike Committee." 

"Esek Hopkins 

"Ambrose Page 

"Saml Nightingale Jr 

The location of the Fox Hill fort is shoA\Ti on an old map of the 
toAvn of Providence, made by Daniel Anthony in 1803, but on account 
of the many changes that have from time to time been made in this 
vicinity, its exact location is somewhat uncertain ; but the square now 
bounded by Brook, Thompson, and Tockwotten streets covers the 
ground on which this important work was erected. 

The committee having in charge the erection of these defenses ap- 
pointed Capt. Samuel W^arncr to take charge of the Fox Hill fort upon 
its completion, with all its guns, stores, and material. 

Meanwhile the beacon approached completion, and the committee 



446 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

under whose direction it had been built was ordered ' ' to fire the same 
on Thursday the 17th of August, at the setting of the sun, and that 
they procure one thousand handbills to be printed to advertise the 
country thereof, that proper observations may be made of the bearings 
of the beacon from different parts of the country, and that they notify 
the country that the beacon will not be fired at any time after August 
17th, unless the town or some part of the colony should be attacked by 
an enemy, in which case the beacon will be fired and three cannon dis- 
charged to alarm the country that they may immediately repair to the 
town, duly equipped with arms and accoutrements". 

These handbills were at once printed, and widely scattered about the 
neighboring country. At the time appointed the beacon was put to a 
test, and it was clearly demonstrated that it would serve the purpose 
for which it had been built ; for a letter, received by the publisher of 
the Gazette, stated that it was observed over a wide area of country, 
extending from Cambridge Hill to New London and Norwich, and 
from Newport to Pomfret. It is also stated that many of the inhabit- 
ants of the neighboring country, not understanding the nature of this 
signal fire, hurriedly left their homes and promptly repaired to Provi- 
dence, all armed and equipped, imagining that the town was about to 
be attacked by the enemy. The beacon itself Avas a simple affair, 
consisting of a spar or mast, some eighty odd feet in height, securely 
braced at the foundation ; wooden pegs for steps, at regular intervals, 
enabled those managing it to ascend to the ' ' kettle ' ', which hung from 
an iron crane or mast-arm. This kettle was filled with inflammable 
stuff so as to produce a brilliant light. 

Solomon Drowne, jr., writing to his brother in Mendon, Mass., 
August 12, 1775, said : 

"I herewith send you a handbill, published to be sent into the coun- 
try for informing the inhabitants of our beacon, &c. The beacon-pole 
mast, or whatever you please, is raised on the hill, not very far above 
the powder house, nearly opposite the church ; the top of it, I have 
heard said, is about eighty feet higher than the top of the new meeting- 
house steeple which, perhaps you have heard, is upwards of one 
hundred and eighty feet from the ground. Judge what an extreme 
view it commands. If this reaches you before the 17th inst., I wish 
you would go up on the hill near your habitation at the time appointed, 
and direct your eye towards Providence, to descry, if possible, that 
light, on which one time, perhaps, our safety may in a considerable 
measure depend." 

If William Drowne complied with his brother's request, he must 
have seen, from the green hills of Mendon, the glare of this watch-fire 
that August night. Mr. Joseph Brown was appointed to the office of 
"Master of the Beacon", and James Marvin, James Berry, James 
MTieaton, and Abimelech Riggs were "appointed Wardens to rig the 



The Wars and the Militia. 447 

kettle, &c. when orders are Given to alarm the country". A house 
was constructed at the base of this beacon, wherein to store the com- 
bustible, so as to be ready at a moment's warning. 

Beacons were established on the high lands in other parts of the 
Colony to further the spreading of news, in case of any unusual 
demonstration or attack by the enemy. Besides the Providence bea- 
con, there was a similar one erected on Tonomy Hill on the island of 
Ehode Island. A trial of this was made June 20, 1776, but no record 
is found regarding the arc of illumination. Another was in Cumber- 
land, on the hill noAv called Beacon Pole Hill ; and a hole drilled in a 
rock, Avhich caps the summit of the hill, is shown as the location of this 
signal. Yet another was on Chopmist Hill in Scituate. Here Squire 
AVilliams was stationed as a guard and keeper of the beacon during 
most of the time when the British were located within the borders of 
the State. It does not appear these latter signals were ever lighted. 

In June, 1775, a post was established on Tower Hill in South Kings- 
town, for the purpose of giving ' ' intelligence to the northern counties 
in case any squadron of ships should be seen oft'". Job Watson was 
appointed to this important station, with orders, that in case he should 
discover an enemy's fleet, to give immediate warning, whereupon the 
alarm companies in the northern counties were directed to immediately 
repair to Providence. 

During the latter part of August, 1775, the British ships cruising 
about the bay threatened an attack on Providence, and the batteries 
in the harbor were manned, and the militia assembled under arms ; the 
enemy, however, did not approach the town. 

Before August 30, the fort at Fox Hill had been completed and was 
ready for service ; on that day Thomas Oilman was stationed at the 
fort as a permanent guard. The works in the lower harbor, between 
Field's and Sassafras Points had also been completed by the hard work 
of the townsmen. Solomon Drowne, in the letter to his brother, al- 
ready referred to, says regarding these defenses : 

"One day last week Mr. Compton, with one of the Light Infantry 
drummers and two of the Cadet fifers, went round to notify the sons of 
freedom who had the public good and safety at heart, to repair to 
Hacker's wharf, Avith such implements as are useful in intrenching, 
where a boat was ready to take them on board and transport them to 
the shore between Sassafras and Field's Point. About sixty of us 
went in a packet, many had gone before, some in J. Brown's boat, &c., 
so when all had got there the number was not much short of 200. I 
don't know that ever I worked harder a day in my life before. With 
what had been done by a number that went the day before, we threw 
up a breast-work that extended near one quarter of a mile. 

"A large quantity of bread was carried down, and several were off 
catching quahaugs, which were cooked for dinner a la mode de Indian. 



448 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 



"The channel runs at not a great distance from this shore, so that 
when cousin Wallace comes up to fire our town, his men who work the 
ships can easily be picked down by small arms, from our intrenchment, 
which is designed principally for musqueteers. However we have a 
little twentyfication growing at Fox Point, where six pretty lusty bull- 
dogs are to be placed ; perhaps this creature may grow into a fortifica- 
tion in time. ' ' 

The result of a portion of this labor by the inhabitants has been 
called Robin Hill Fort. It is still well preserved, and is located on 
the bluff overlooking the river, in the rear of the spot where the powder 
house once stood; southward from it was the line of intrenehments 




running along the edge of the bluff. Of these, however, there is little 
now remaining. 

During the intervening time, until October, 1775, the town was not 
in great danger from an attack by the enemy, but the bombardment 
of Bristol, the 7th of this month, again aroused the townsmen to the 
dangers which might follow, if the British ships should continue up 
the river. 

Following this affair at Bristol, the works at Kettle Point and Paw- 
tuxet were thrown up, batteries were located all along the seaboard, 
and permanent guards were established. Another fort was considered 
necessary for the safety of Providence ; and at a town meeting held 
October 26, 1775, a committee was appointed, authorized "to direct 



The Wars and the Militia. 449 

where, and in what manner, fortifications shall be made upon the hill 
to the southward of the house of William Field", at Field's Point. 
This committee evidently performed the duty required of them both 
promptly and faithfully; for, on the same day, it was voted "that the 
part of the town below the Gaol Lane (Meeting street), on the east 
side of the river, be required by warrant from the town clerk, as usual, 
by beat of drum, to repair to-morrow morning at 8 o'clock, to Field's 
Point, to make proper fortifications there ; to provide themselves with 
tools and provisions for the day, that the inhabitants capable of bear- 
ing arms, who dwell on the west side of the river, be required in the 
same manner to repair thither, for the same purpose, on Saturday 
next ; and that the inhabitants of that part of the town to the north- 
ward of the Gaol Lane, be required, in the same manner, to repair 
thither for the same purpose on Monday next". The fort built at 
this time was located on the high hill at Field's Point. This hill is a 
conspicuous point from the river and bay, and its flat top suggests the 
fort which even now crowns its height. 

On the maps of this locality the fort is named Fort Independence, 
but no mention of such a name is found on the records of this period. 
The name quite likely originated with some map-maker in later years. 
Fort Independence, so called, is one hundred and ten feet long in its 
greatest length, and varies in width from fifty- three to sixty feet inside 
of the embankment. The construction of this fort was superintended 
by Capt. Barnard Eddy. 

A boom and chain Avas ordered stretched across the river at the 
Field's Point narrows to prevent any hostile vessel from entering the 
harbor. 

In May, 1777, Captain Sumner laid before the town meeting, held 
on the 5th of that month, a "Plan of a Fort proper to be erected for 
the Common Defence upon the Hill Eastward from the compact part 
of the Town ' '. This plan had the hearty approval of General Spencer, 
and he asked the assistance of the town in pushing it to completion. 
The townsmen promptly passed a vote, ordering the different military 
companies in the town to repair, on the 16th day of that month, to 
Beacon Hill— another name for College Hill— where the beacon had 
been already erected, to make fortifications. 

(3n the high land on the west side of the river, southerly from what 
was then called the road to Pawtuxet (now Broad street), Avas a fort 
which bore the name of Fort Sullivan. While there is no recorded 
evidence to show when it was built, the name given to it suggests that it 
was thrown up during the time when Gen. John Sullivan was in com- 
mand of this department, and that was in 1778. 

There was yet another fort in the harbor. It was not, however, in 
Rhode Island! but was built on territory so near that it has since,^ by a 
change in the State line, been brought within its borders. This is the 
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The Wars and the Militia. 451 

work on Fort Hill in East Providence. In the days of the Revolution 
this land was in the town of Rehoboth, and the point of land jutting 
out into the river, at the base of the hill, was called Hog Pen Point! 
When the town of Rehoboth was considering the various questions 
which the times suggested, it was voted, among other measures, on the 
6th day of November, 1775, that a committee be chosen "to wait on a 
committee of the town of Providence to consult on fortifying Hog Pen 
Point". A week later the town of Rehoboth "voted it expedient to 
illll,. fortify Hog Pen Point, and chose a com- 

l^jl^,^ mittee to oversee the business". It is 

yet in a good state of preservation. 

Thus was the town of Providence and 
its neighboring territory protected dur- 
ing those eventful days. Had the enemy 
ventured into these waters, he would 
have met with a warm reception from 
the guns which bristled on either side of 
JK the entrance to the port. 
^ As early as 1700 a fort was located on 
^ Goat Island, in Newport Harbor. When 
this fort was built it was named Fort 
Anne; later it was changed to Fort 
George, then Fort Liberty, and after- 
wards called Fort Washington. It was 
the only fort in the Colony at the out- 
break of the Revolution; and while not 
permanently garrisoned, a guard was 
fpw maintained here ; for it was well 

equipped, mounting fifty guns, and its magazine held a large 
supply of powder. In 1774, owing to the aspect of affairs 
in the Colonies, it was considered advisable to remove its 
guns and ammunition to Providence. Later, however, in 1776, it was 
furnished with twenty-five guns, 18 and 24-pounders ; and a garrison 
of fifty men was established, commanded by Capt. Samuel Sweet, with 
Daniel Vaughan first lieutenant and Ebenezer Adams second lieu- 
tenant. 

The town of Newport unanimously voted at a town meeting held 
April 29, 1776, "to enter at once into the defence of the town"; and 
three days later a large body of the inhabitants repaired to Brenton's 
Point, the present location of Fort Adams, and erected there a fort, 
■commanding one of the entrances to the harbor. 

Additional light is shed upon the doings of the people of Newport, 
by a memorial prepared in June, 1776, during the recess of the General 
Assembly, "by such of the Members as could conveniently be imme- 
diately convened", to be sent to the Continental Congress, wherein it 




IP 



452 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

is stated that the inhabitants of Newport "assembled in a full town 
meeting and unanimously voted to work upon the necessary fortifica- 
tions, and to defend the Town, and immediately entered upon it with 
Vigour .... Three considerable works have been erected, 
and the Town of Newport is now capable of being defended 
against all the Frigates in the British Navy. Fortifications are also 
making at Bristol Ferry and on the East side of Rhode Island, which 
when completed will effectually secure a communication with the Con- 
tinent, and enable us to defend that most valuable Island". 

But the confidence which the people of Newport had in the strength 
and value of these works to withstand "all the Frigates in the British 
Navy ' ', was destined to be shattered ; for a few months later every one 
of them was occupied by the enemy, without a shot being fired to resist 
their capture. Besides this fort at Brenton's Point, another work, 
which was called the North Battery, was built on the site of the present 
Fort Greene, at the end of Washington street. Across on the island 
of Conanicut, a battery was established at the Dumplings, of eight 
18-pound guns. 

Early in the month of January, 1776, the General Assembly ordered 
"that a number of men not exceeding fifty, be stationed at Warwick 
Neck, including the Artillery Company in Warwick ; the remainder to 
be minutemen ; that Col. John Waterman have the command, and ap- 
point proper officers to act under him ; that they continue there and be 
kept upon pay, until the enemy's fleet shall go down the river, and 
then be discharged, if his honor the Governor shall think proper", 

A watch-house was ordered to be built on Cranston Neck or Long 
Neck, now called Pawtuxet Neck, twelve feet long and eight feet wide, 
for the accommodation of the guard stationed at the fort. Here was. 
located a battery of two 18-pound guns. The works at Pawtuxet and 
at Warwick Neck have entirely disappeared. 

Upon the arrival of the enemy's fleet in Newport harbor, William 
Ellery wrote to Governor Cooke : ' ' There ought to be a good redoubt 
at Warwick Point. If they attack Providence it will be by land. 
They will pass up the bay to Warwick Neck perhaps, then land and 
march to the town", A substantial work was therefore erected, and 
from time to time detachments of the minutemen or alarm companies 
in the county were ordered to report there for duty. 

In addition to the fort at Warwick Neck, a system of intrenchments 
was laid out along the northerly side of the old road leading from 
Apponaug to Old Warwick, near the head of Brush Neck Cove and 
Horse Neck. Portions of this line of works may still be seen, fringed 
with a growth of cedars, which may serve to identify their location. 
These were thrown up by the troops at this station in the latter part 
of 1776. 

In December of that year Gen. Francois Lellorquis de Malmedy, a 



The Wars and the Militia, 



453 



French officer, who had been recommended to the State authorities by 
General Lee, and had been appointed "Chief Engineer and Director 
of the works of defence in this State", made an examination of the 
several points along the Narragansett shore, and in a letter to General 
Lee, dated the 20th of this month, referring to the position of Warwick 
and its defenses, says : "I there found some works begun. I thought 
it my duty not to oppose the desire of the commandant. We have, 
therefore, continued to prolong them, with some regularity, adapted to 
the ground". 

General Malmedy was not impressed with the value of this line of 
works at Warwick. In fact, he did not lay much importance in de- 
feuding this point at all. "It is mere folly to attempt to defend it", 
he says; for "in case the enemy make a descent in its neighborhood, 
they can land at Warwick Neck and arrive in Providence in four 
hours". It was his belief, although he did not claim to be a military 
engineer, that Pawtuxet, not Warwick Neck, was the place at which 

•'■'■'■'"'"""*•■■ here he believed the enemy 

would land, if an attack was to 
be made against Providence ; he, 
therefore, recommended that a 
body of troops be assembled at 
Pawtuxet, and that a quantity 
of fascines be procured to use in 
building works. 

In February, 1776, Deputy- 
Governor Bradford, William 
Ellery, John Mathewson, Henry 
were appointed a committee "to 
cause fortifications to be erected, as soon as possible, upon Rhode 
Island and at Bristol, sufficient to command and keep a communication 
at Bristol Feriy". The troops stationed at Bristol and on Rhode 
Island were employed in this work. These fortifications were at each 
end of Bristol Ferry, and the one on the island can, even now, be easily 
distinguished. A fort was erected, commanding this ferry, on the high 
land at Tiverton, which has since borne the name of Fort Barton. Its 
outlines are even now well defined. 

This committee also recommended that a fort be erected on Tonomy 
Hill by Colonel Putnam, "according to his best skill and judgment," 
and another on the Bristol side of Bristol Ferry "at the place selected 
by Col. Putnam". The high land at the northern part of Newport is 
called Tonomy Hill, and consists of two spurs or hills, one of which— 
the highest— is now called Tonomy Hill, while the other is known as 
Beacon Hill. Fortifications are still remaining on each. It was on 




Mar chant. 



Gideon 



454 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the lower spur that the Tonomy Hill beacon was built in 1776. The 
exact spot selected for the Bristol work is not known. A map of the 
operations on Rhode Island shows two works at this point, one on the 
high land north of where the lighthouse now stands, while another was 
nearer the water, under the hill. 

Action had been taken by the town authorities at Bristol some 
months before the committee of the General Assembly made its report. 
On December 12, 1775, it was "voted, that some intrenchments be made 
near the harbor in this town to prevent the enemy from landing". 
William Bradford, Simeon Potter, Benjamin Bosworth, and Jeremy 
Ingraham were appointed a committee to build these works. They 
were constructed "along the shore, extending south from the foot of 
r" s^j,.. State Street^, down as far as the foot 

rORTO/^THE^W^ of Burton Street, near Richmond's 

r ^/ ^^""^"""\'^^ wharf. They were composed of a 

1C)LAND ^/ /^ wall five feet high, built of turf and 
OF" v\V#'^'^^'^^ ^^ stones, filled up on the inside with 



i\ %| %^ "^^'^s another fort called Fort Daniel. 



^^^''!!5^^"^^^^^^^^^^^ /# loose earth and small stones. 



Across the bay at East Greenwich 

IS another fort called Fort Daniel. 

This, says Wanton Casey of that 

I Cl\^ town, who was one of the charter 

^% \\\\\\ll^ members of the Kentish Guards, was 

^\ ^^4% built by that organization "to pre- 

%,\ %%> vent the boats from the British fleet 

^% %^ getting into the harbor". It "had 

^^ #M^ ^ eight or ten guns mounted", and a 

^/ :#\w*'*'''I!!<^^^ guard was maintained here during 

^/ Z^^'^'^'''''' ' ■^^^ \v\<q\% time that the British Avere 

0^% /^^ encamped within the State. From 

^^•^^LPAIA^JCUTthe Colony records it appears that 

"v^ nine guns were mounted at this fort. 

In May, 1776, a fort was ordered built ' ' at Beaver Tail, on Conani- 

cut, to contain six or eight heavy cannon", while a coast-guard was 

established at Point Judith, Seaconnet Point, Westerly at Watch Hill, 

Charlestown, at the South Ferry in South Kingstown, and at North 

Kingstown. 

Before the close of the year 1776 the whole shore of Narra- 
gansett Bay was well protected. The order of the general as- 
sembly, establishing artillery companies in all the seaboard towns, 
had been complied with, and for the protection of these batteries 
breast-works had been thrown up at Barrington, Nayatt Point, Quid- 
nesset, Wickford, Boston Neck, AVatch Hill, Noyes's Neck, and at 
Point Judith, while, besides the more formidable works already re- 



The Wars and the Militia. 455 

ferred to, there was a battery at Popasquash Point of six 18-pounders, 
and another substantial work at Bullock's Point. When and under 
whose direction these latter were built, a persistent investigation has 
failed to discover. 

In May, 1778, soon after the British attack on Warren, fortifications 
were erected on Burr Hill, in that town, "upon the west end of the 
second hill from the north", and a guard was maintained here both 
night and day during the remainder of the war. Nothing remains to- 
day of these fortifications. 

The arrival of the British army at Newport in December, 1776, 
produced the greatest consternation through the State; the fortifica- 
tions along the shore were manned, and the whole State "became a 
vast camp confronting the enemy". 

The British at once commenced to strengthen the works which had 
fallen into their hands, and to build additional defenses. A redoubt 
was thrown up on the east side of the island, at Fogland Ferry, another 
on the west side of the island, on the south side of Lawton's Valley, 
while a formidable work was erected on Butt's Hill, near the north 
end of the island. Upon the completion of these, "they intrenched 
Newport with a strong, continuous line, which ran northerly along the 
crest of the heiglit rising above the right bank of the inlet at Easton's 
Pond, then turned westerly towards Tonomy Hill, and continued north 
of this height to Coddington's Cove". The forts which the American 
army was forced to abandon at Tonomy Hill were strengthened, and 
a heavy battery was erected at Coddington's Point. 

On the high land near the Stoddard place, a few rods south of the 
Bristol Ferry House, in a field oft' from the road to Stone Bridge, the 
outlines of the Bristol Ferry fort may still be seen. The plough has 
done much to obliterate this work, for the land on which it is located 
has been under cultivation for many years. It was erected, in 1776, 
by the troops stationed here in conjunction with those at the other end 
of the ferry. 

A fort was erected on Tiverton Heights, called Fort Barton, and 
another on Gould Island called the "Owl's Nest". Gould Island is 
the little wooded island south of Stone Bridge. 

On the north part of the island, at Butt's Hill, was a formidable 
work. The center work at this point is by far the most imposing and 
best preserved of those at the north end of the island. The embank- 
ments and ditch, with traces of ravelins, are even now well preserved. 
In 1848 the ruts made by the heavy wheels of the cannon, says Lossing, 
were then clearly visible. This fort was constructed on a rocky ledge, 
which has done much to preserve its ancient appearance. Nothing 
remains of the other fortifications which were a part of the Butt's Hill 
system. 

In 1781 a battery was erected on Hallidon Hill, "as this height com- 



The Wars and the Militia. 457 

manded at short artillery range all the batteries at Brenton's Point 
and on Goat Island". This fort was first called Fort Chastellux, 
"after the Chevalier de Chastellux, one of Rochambeau's Mareschaux 
des Camps"; after the Revolution it was called Fort Harrison, being 
on the Harrison farm; and later it was called "Fort Denhani, from 
some local association". General Cullum, in his work on the Defences 
in Narragansett Bay, says that in 1884 a portion of this fort was sit- 
uated in front of the Thorp cottage (between Berkley and King 
streets), while yet another work was visible on the "Ocean drive" 
near the southwest extremity of the island, toward Castle Hill ; both 
have since disappeared. 

To the west of Newport on Conanicut was located, in 1777, the 
Dumplings Rock battery, having an armament of eight 18-pound 
guns. 

Across the west passage on the mainland in South Kingstown, at 
what is called Bonnet Point, was an earthwork called the Bonnet Bat- 
tery ; this was thrown up during the years 1777 and 1778, about the 
time the forts on Conanicut were built. It was an elliptical work and 
can be seen there to-day. It was continuously occupied by Rhode 
Island troops. 

Nearly three years before the Concord and Lexington fight there 
was enacted within the borders of Rhode Island one of the most 
audacious and determined acts of resistance to British tyranny and 
oppression that had yet found expression among the sturdy colonists 
of America. Low mutterings of resentment against the outrages in- 
flicted by the British crown had for a long period been indulged in by 
all classes, but without resort to force, save that of argument. With 
no hope that their grievances would be noticed, and seeing their posi- 
tion growing more and more unbearable, it is no wonder that the men 
of Providence took into their own hands the only remedy left for 
redressing their wrongs, and, on the night of the 9th of June, 1772, 
applied the torch to His Britannic Majesty's schooner Gaspee and 
spilled the first blood in that sanguinary conflict for American inde- 
pendence. 

The British schooner Gaspee of eight guns, commanded by Lieut. 
William Dudingston, accompanied by another vessel, the Beaver, ar- 
rived in Narragansett Bay in March, 1772. Her mission in these 
waters was "to prevent breakers of the revenue laws, and to stop the 
illicit trade, so long and so successfully carried on in the Colony". 

The commander of the Gaspee immediately upon taking command 
of the station proceeded to exercise his authority in a most high- 
handed and obnoxious manner. He overhauled all vessels sailing up 
and down the bay, not even excepting market boats, subjected them 
to search without showing the slightest authority for so doing, and 
even went so far, it is said, as to molest and plunder people on shore. 



458 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

The Providence Gazette, on March 28, mildly referred to these 
depredations by the following item in its column of Providence news : 

"A number of men belonging to the armed Schooner that has been 
for some time past cruising in the River interrupting the traders, 
firing on Oyster boats &c. we are told landed on the Narragansett 
Shore a few days since & carried off several Hogs belonging to the 
inhabitants, and also a Quantity of Fire wood. ' ' 

Seizures made by the Gaspee within the bay were sent "to Boston 
for trial, contrary to an act of Parliament, which required such trials 
to be held in the Colonies where seizures were made". Shortly after 
the Gaspee had commenced her high-handed and illegal proceedings, 
complaints began to pour in upon the deputy-governor, Darius Ses- 
sions, who, desiring to be informed as to the real authority of this 
British commander in taking charge of the navigable waters of the 
State, which action, to say the least, was questionable, submitted the 
matter to Chief Justice Hopkins for an opinion. The opinion came, 
concise and clear, "that no commander of any vessel has a right to use 
any authority in the body of the Colony, without previously appearing 
to the governor and showing his warrant for so doing, and also being 
sworn to a due exercise of his office". Upon receiving this reply, the 
deputy-governor communicated the facts to Governor Wanton, detail- 
ing at some length the annoyances to which shipmasters in the bay 
were subjected. A long correspondence between Governor Wanton 
and Dudingston ensued, resulting in all of the letters which had passed 
between them being sent to Admiral Montague, commanding the 
British fleet at Boston. 

But the authorities in Rhode Island had little to expect from the 
British admiral; he naturally took sides with the commander of the 
Gaspee, and replied to the governor, "that he [Dudingston] has done 
his duty and behaved like an officer and it is your duty as a governor 
to give him your assistance and not endeavor to distress the King's 
officers for strictly complying with my orders. I shall give them direc- 
tions, that in case they receive any molestation in the execution of their 
duty, they shall send every man so taken in molesting them to me. I 
am also informed, the people of Newport talk of fitting out an armed 
vessel to rescue any vessel the King's schooner may take carrying on 
an illicit trade. Let them be cautious what they do, for as sure as 
they attempt it and any of them are taken I will hang them as pirates". 

Governor Wanton replied to the British admiral in a dignified and 
spirited manner, and assured him that he did not receive instructions 
for the administration of the affairs of the Colony from the king's 
admiral stationed in America. The whole controversy had now as- 
sumed such proportions that the governor thought it advisable to 
bring the matter before the General Assembly of the Colony, and he 



The Wars and the Militia. 459 

(therefore transmitted tlie whole correspondence, with a recital of the 
troubles, to that body, and a vote was passed at the May session of the 
Legislature that "His Honor the Governor be requested to transmit to 
the secretary of state [the Earl of Hillsborough] a narration" of the 
affair, together with a copy of the admiral's letter. Meanwhile the 
Gaspee controversy was the subject of the most intense excitement 
throughout the Colony, but it could not compare with what was about 
to follow. All of this correspondence and controversy had occupied 
the time between March 21 and May 20, 1772, the date of the letter sent 
to the Earl of Hillsborough. The next step in the matter was a mem- 
orable one. 

On the 8th of June the sloop Hannah, a vessel plying between Provi- 
dence, Newport and New York, commanded by Beniamin Lindsay^ 
arrived in Newport homeward bound, entered at the custom house and 
the next day started up the bay to Providence. She left Newport 
about noon with the wind at the north, and was soon sighted by the 
Gaspee, which immediately gave chase. The pursuit was continued 
as far as Namquit Point, now called Gaspee Point, situated in War- 
wick, about seven miles below Providence, and projecting from a part 
of the Spring Green farm belonging to the heirs of the late John 
Brown Francis. Here, on account of the strategy of the captain of 
the Hannah in leading his pursuer, the Gaspee stuck hard and fast 
in the sand and the chase ended. The Hannah continued on her 
course up the river to Providence, where she arrived about sunset and 
tied up to her wharf. AVhat followed her arrival is best told in the 
language of one of the party engaged in the affair which took place 
that night. On the 29th of August, 1839, Col. Ephraim Bowen, the 
last survivor of the Gaspee party, then in his eighty-sixth year, pre- 
pared a narrative of the affair, in which he says : 

"Lindsey continued on his course up the river, and arrived at 
Providence about sunset, when he immediately informed Mr. John 
Brown, one of our first and most respectable merchants, of the situa- 
tion of the Gaspee. He immediately concluded that she would remain 
immovable until after midnight, and that now an opportunity offered 
of putting an end to the trouble and vexation she daily caused. 

"Mr. Brown immediately resolved on her destruction, and he forth- 
with directed one of his trusty shipmasters to collect eight of the 
largest long boats in the harbor, with five oars to each; to have the 
oars and row locks well muffled, to prevent noise, and to place them 
at Fenner's wharf, directly opposite to the dwelling of Mr. James 
Sabin, who kept a house of board and entertainment for gentlemen . 
The wharf thus indicated was located at what is now the corner of 
Planet street and South Water street. When the substantial buiWmg 
which now occupies this site was erected the crib work of this rendez- 
vous was uncovered and removed to make place for the foundation 




THE SABIN TAVERN, 

Formerly Located on South Main Street, Providence. In one of the Rooms 
OF THIS House the Party met to Organize the Expedition which Destroyed 
THE "Gaspee". 



The Wars and the Militia. 461 

walls. "About the time of the shutting up of the shops, soon after 
sunset, a man passed along the main street, beating a drum, and in- 
forming the inhabitants of the fact that the Gaspee was aground on 
Namquit Point, and would not float off until three o'clock the next 
morning ; and inviting those persons who felt a disposition to go and 
destroy that troublesome vessel, to repair in the evening to Mr. James 
Sabin's house. About nine o'clock I took my father's gun, and my 
powder horn and bullets, and went to Mr. Sabin's, and found the 
southeast room full of people, where I loaded my gun, and all remained 
there till about ten o'clock, some casting bullets in the kitchen, and 
others making arrangements for departure, when orders were given 
to cross the street to Fenner's wharf, and embark; which soon took 
place, and a sea captain acted as steersman of each boat; of whom. I 
recollect Capt. Abraham Whipple, Capt. John B. Hopkins (with whom 
I embarked), and Capt. Benjamin Dunn. A line from right to left 
was soon formed, with Capt. Whipple on the right, and Capt. Hopkins 
on the right of the left wing. 

"The party thus proceeded, till within about sixty yards of the 
Gaspee, when a sentinel hailed, ' Who comes there ? ' No answer. He 
hailed again, and no answer. In about a minute Dudingston mounted 
the starboard gunwale, in his shirt, and hailed 'Who comes there?' 
No answer. He hailed again, when Capt. Whipple answered as fol- 
lows: 

" 'I am the sheriff of the county of Kent, G— d d— n you. I have 
got a warrant to apprehend you, G— d d— n you; so surrender, G— d 
d — n you'. 

"I took my seat on the main thwart, near the larboard row lock, 
with my gun by my right side, facing forwards. 

"As soon as Dudingston began to hail, Joseph Bucklin, who was 
standing on the main thwart, by my right side, said to me, 'Eph, 
reach me your gun, and I can kill that fellow.' I reached it to him 
accordingly; when, during Capt. Wliipple's replying, Bucklin fired, 
and Dudingston fell ; and Bucklin exclaimed, 'I have killed the rascal'. 

"In less than a minute after Capt. Wliipple's answer, the boats were 
alongside of the Gaspee, and boarded without opposition. The men on 
deck retreated below as Dudingston entered the cabin. 

' ' As soon as it was discovered that he was wounded, John Mawney, 
who had for two or three years been studying physic and surgery, was 
ordered to go into the cabin, and dress Dudingston 's wound, and I was 
directed to assist him. On examination, it was found the baU took 
effect about five inches directly below the navel. 

"Dudingston called for Mr. Dickinson to produce bandages and 
other necessaries for the dressing of the wound, and when finished, 
orders were given to the schooner's company to collect their clothing, 
and everything belonging to them, and put them into their boats, as 
all of them were to be sent on shore. 

"All were soon collected, and put on board of the boats, including 



462 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

one of our boats. They departed, and landed Dudingston at the old 
Still house wharf, at Pawtuxet, and put the chief into the house of 
Joseph Rhodes. Soon after, all the party were ordered to depart, 
leaving one boat for the leaders of the expedition; who soon set the 
vessel on fire, which consumed her to the water's edge". 

Continuing his narrative Colonel Bowen gives the names of some 
of his associates on this memorable night, but he remembered but few; 
sixty-seven years had elapsed, and old age had dimmed the memories of 
that night when but a boy he joined the Gaspee party. The ''most 
conspicuous actors", he says, were "Mr. John Brown, Captains Abra- 
ham Whipple, John B. Hopkins, Benjamin Dunn, and five others 
whose names I have forgotten"; his "youthful companions" were 
"John Mawney, Benjamin Page, Joseph Bucklin and Turpin Smith". 

Some years before Colonel Bowen prepared his account of this affair 
John Mawney published, in the Providence American and Gazette, a 
statement of his recollections of the night's work. He heard the drum- 
mer passing through the streets and attracted by this, he repaired to 
the Sabin tavern and learned the object of the expedition, and after 
some urging agreed to go as surgeon of the party. He says : "I went 
to Corlis wharf, with Capt. Joseph Tillinghast, who commanded the 
barge, it being the last boat that put off; and in going down we 
stopped at Capt. Cooke's wharf, where we took in staves and paving 
stones ; which done, followed our commander, and came up with them 
a considerable distance down the river; after which, we 
rowed along pretty rapidly till we came in sight of the 
schooners, when Capt. (the late Commodore) Whipple ordered 
us to form a line, which was instantly complied with ; after which, we 
rowed gently along, till we got near the schooner ; when we were hailed 
from on board, with the words, ' Who comes there ? ' Capt. Whipple 
replied, 'I want to come on board'. The reply was, 'Stand off, you 
can't come on board'. On which Capt. Whipple roared out, 'I am the 
sheriff of the county of Kent; I am come for the commander of this 
vessel and have him I will dead or alive ; men, spring to your oars ! ' 
when we were in an instant on her bows. I was sitting with Capt. Till- 
inghast, in the stern of the barge, and sprang immediately forward; 
and seeing a rope hang down her bows, seized it to help myself in. 
The rope slipping, I fell almost to my waist in the water ; but, being 
active and nimble, I recovered, and was the first of our crew on deck, 
when Simeon H. Olney handed me a stave, with which, seeing one 
that I took to be of the crew of the schooner, floundering below 
the windlass, I was in the attitude of leveling a stroke, when he cried 
out, 'John, don't strike'. Being very intimately acquainted with 
Capt. Samuel Dunn, I knew his voice, left him, and sprang back of the 
windlass, where there was commotion and noise, but which soon sub- 
sided ; the crew jumping down the hold, I immediately followed, when 



! 



The Wars and the Militia. 



463 



I ordered them to bring cords to tie their hands, and told them they 
should not be hurt, but be sent on shore. They brought some tarred 
strings, with which I tied the hands of two behind, when John Brown, 
Esq., called to me saying I was wanted immediately on deck, where I 
was instantly helped. When I asked Mr. Brown what was the mat- 
ter, he replied ,' Don 't call names, but go immediately into the cabin ; 
there is one wounded and will bleed to death'. I hastened into the 
cabin, and found Lieut, Dudingston in a sitting posture, gently reclin- 
ing to the left, bleeding profusely, with a thin, white woolen blanket, 
loose about him, which I threw aside, and discovered the effect of a 




Capt. Joseph Tillinghast, 

One of the party participating in the destruction of H. M. S. Gaspee, June 10, 1772. 
From an old painting in the possession of Benj. C. Gladding, Esq., of Providence. 

musket ball in the left groin ; and thinking the femoral artery was 
cut, threw open my waistband, and taking my shirt by the collar, tore 
it to my waistband, when Mr. Dudingston said, 'Pray, sir, don't tear 
your clothes; there is linen in that trunk'; upon which I requested 
Joseph Bucklin to break open the trunk, and tear linen and scrape lint, 
which he immediately attempted ; but finding the linen new and strong, 
could not make the lint". 

Continuing, Mawney describes with much detail the process ot 
dressing the wound, and concludes by saying : ' ' During the operation 
I was several times called upon at the door, but was not ready. When 



464 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the door was opened, many rushed in, and attacked the bottles. I hav- 
ing boots on, stamped on them, and requested others to assist, which 
was readily done. . . . When I came on deck, I saw Capt. 
Tillinghast, and some others. We got into the boat, and rowed up the 
river a certain distance, and went by land up to town, when Capt. 
Tillinghast, who was then living with me, after taking breakfast, went 
on the hill to view the smoking ruins of the vessel, which was all in 
flames soon after we left it". 

From a subsequent statement of Dr. Mawney, it appears that Lieut. 
Dudingston was not wanting in gratitude to his surgeon. After his 
wound was dressed he offered Dr. MaAvney a gold stock buckle, as a 
testimonial of his gratitude. This was refused ; but a silver one was 
afterwards offered and accepted, and worn by Dr. Mawney but a little 
while before his death.^ 

It was not until three days after the occurrence that any account 
appeared in the newspapers, but on the 13th the Gazette had a brief 
account of the affair. In those days journalistic enterprise had not 
developed to any great extent, no special edition was issued from the 
press, no reporter accompanied the expedition to write up all the de- 
tails of the night's work, as would be done to-day, and it is doubtful if 
Editor Carter of the Gazette included all he was "told" in the follow- 
ing account which he published : 

"Providence, June 13. 

' ' Monday last a Sloop from New York arrived at Newport and after 
reporting her Cargo at the Custom House was proceeding up the River 
on Tuesday. 

"The Gaspee, armed Schooner, then lying near Newport, imme- 
diately gave Chase to the Sloop, crowding aU the sail she could make ; 
but the People on Board, not being acquainted with the River, at Three 
o'clock in the afternoon she ran on Namquit Point near Pawtuxet. 
About Twelve at night a great number of People in Boats boarded the 
Schooner, bound the Crew and sent them ashore, after which they set 
Fire to the Vessel and Destroyed her. 

"A pistol was discharged by the Captain of the Schooner, and a 
Musket or Pistol from one of the Boats, by which the Captain was 
wounded, the Ball passing through one of his Arms, and lodging in 
the lower Part of his Belly. He was immediately taken to Pawtuxet 
and we are told is in a fair Way to recover. 

"We hear that one Daggett belonging to the Vineyard, who had 
served the beforementioned schooner, as a Pilot, but at the time of 
her being destroyed, was on board the Beaver sloop of war, on going 
ashore a few days since, at Narragansett, to a sheep-shearing, was 
seized by the company, who cut off his hair, and performed on him 
the operation of shearing, in such manner, that his ears and nose were 
in imminent danger. ' ' 

^Judge Staples's Documentary History, p. 101. 



The Wars and the Militia. 465 

Long before this startling bit of news issued from the office of the 
Gazette the story was well known throughout the Colony, and even in 
the neighboring Colonies as well. Undoubtedly many other details of 
the affair were known, and to most of the readers of this periodical the 
impartial and inconsequential account published must have been 
greeted with profound respect for the editor who could treat so mo- 
mentous an affair in so disinterested a manner. 

The proceedings which followed this overt act were apparently of 
the most searching character. A proclamation was issued by the gov- 
ernor, offering a reward of £100 sterling "to any person or persons 
who shall discover the persons guilty" of the crime. This reward was 
subsequently increased by a royal proclamation to five hundred 
pounds, and five hundred pounds additional for the discovery and 
apprehension of the person "who acted or called themselves or were 
called by their accomplices the head sheriff or the captain". Notices 
to this effect were freely distributed throughout the towns in the 
Colony. 

"The King's proclamation was posted on the pillar of the hay scales 
which then stood near the northeast corner of the Market house," the 
building now occupied by the Board of Trade. ' ' It had not been there 
more than fifteen or twenty minutes when Mr. Joseph Aplin, a dis- 
tinguished lawyer, came up to see what had collected the crowd. Lift- 
ing his cane he struck it down and it soon mingled with the filth of the 
street. ' ' 

This proclamation of the king was soon followed by the appointment 
of a Koyal Commission to inquire into the affair, consisting of Joseph 
Wanton, governor of Rhode Island, Daniel Horsemanden, chief justice 
of New York, Frederick Smythe, chief justice of New Jersey, Peter 
Oliver, chief justice of jNIassachusetts, and Robert Auchmurty, judge 
of the vice-admiralty court at Boston. This commission entered upon 
a strict inquiry concerning the whole affair. The commission and in- 
structions were issued in September, 1772 ; in June, 1773, this august 
body made its report, in which it Avas stated that they were unable to 
discover any of the persons connected with the burning of the Gaspee. 

And yet the details of the affair were generally discussed among the 
people and even incriminating correspondence passed between resi- 
dents of the town and those of neighboring Colonies, for within two 
weeks from the day of this startling occurrence Solomon DroAvne, jr., 
of Providence, wrote to his brother at INIendon, Mass., the following 
letter, which Avas doubtless sent by the public post : 

' ' Providence, June ye 23rd 1772. 

"Dear Brother: 

"If I had no other motive to embrace this opportunity of writing to 
you, yet gratitude would oblige me. . . . Doubtless you have 
30-1 




By the Itonorable JOSEPH WANTON, Ef(^uir,-, Governor . 
,w (s , Captmn General, and Commander in Chief, of and __over the Englifh 
' Colony 0/ Rhode-Ifland, (7r7^ Providence Plantations, ?/2 New-England, 
in America. 



PROCLAMATION, 




HERE AS on TuefJay, the ninth Inftant in the Night, a Num- 
ber of People, unknown, boarded His Majefty's armed Schooner 
the Gafpee, as (lie lay aground on a Point ot Land, called 
Nanquit, a little to the fouthward of PaiJtuxet, in the Colony 
aforefaid, vho dangeroufly wounded Lieutenant H'tl.njm Di.J- 
ingjlon the Commander, and by Force took him with all hw 
People, put them into Boats, and landed them near Pa-si- 

tuxet ; and afterwards fei Fire to the faid Schooner, whereby fhe was entirely de- 

ftroyed ; 

I HAVE, therefore, thought fit, by and with the Advice of fuch of Hii Ma- 
jefty's Council, as could be feafonably convened, to iffue this Proclamition, (\i\^- 
ly charging and commanding all Flis Majefty's Officers withm the faid Cofri- 
ny, both Civil and Military, to exert themfclves with the ucinofl Vigilance, to dif- 
covct and apprehend the Perfons guilty of the aforelaiJ atrocious Cnme, that 
they may be brought to condign Punifhment. And I do hereby offer a Reward 
of ONE HUNDRED POUNDS, Sterling Money of Creai- 
Britain, to any Perfon or Perfons who (hall difcover the Perpetrators of the 
faid Villainy, to be paid immediately upon the Conviftion of any one or more 
of them. 

AND the feveral Sheriffs in the faid Colony are hereby required, forthwith, to 
caufe this Proclamation to be ported up in the mofl public Places, in each of the 
Towns in their refpcdlive Counties 



G IVEN under tny Hand and Seal at Arms, at Newport, thii Twelfth Day of 
June, in the Twelfth Tear of the Reign of Hii Mojt Sacred Miijejly, George 
THE Third, by the Grace of God, King of Great-Britain, and fo forth, 
jinnoq; Dom. One Thou/and, Sevn Hundred and Seventy-two. 



J. WANTON. 



By bis Honor's Command, 
H£NRY Ward, Sec'ry. 

GOD 



SAVE THE KING, 
PROCLAMATION 



Issued by Governor Wanton for the Apprehension of the " Gaspee " Con- 
spirators. Reproduced from the Original in the Possession of Howard 
W. Preston, Esq., Providence. 



The Wars and the Militia. 467 

heard of the skirmish down the river, and of the burning of the armed 
Schooner, and badly wounding the captain ; so I shall write no more 
concerning the affair (though I was on the wharf when the boats were 
manned and armed and knew the principal actors), lest it should be 
too much spread abroad ; and perhaps you have seen the thundering 
proclamation in the newspaper, and the reward of £100 sterling offered 
to any person or persons who shall discover the perpetrators of the said 
villainy, as it is called. 

"The clock strikes eleven. We take no notice of time but from its 
loss. . 

"From your affectionate brother 
"and sincere friend 

"Solomon Drown junr." 

It is sometimes stated in the accounts of the destruction of the 
Oaspee that a boat containing a number of men from Bristol, under 
the leadership of Ca.pt. Simeon Potter, took part in this expedition. 
This is apparently based upon the testimony given by one Aaron 
Briggs, a negro, before the King's Commission, on January 14, 1773, 
who testified with great minuteness to the part he took in the attack, 
being led to do so "by reason of illegal threats from Capt. Linzee of 
hanging him (the said Aaron) at the yard arm, if he would not dis- 
cover who the persons were, that destroyed the Gaspee". His testi- 
mony, however, was so conflicting that the commissioners placed no 
confidence in it, and stated in their report to the king that "most of 
the circumstances and facts related in both of his examinations, are 
contradictions repugnant to each other, and many of them impossible 
in their nature". The testimony was also adduced that the negro 
Aaron was "a person much addicted to lying". No further evidence 
than that of the lying negro has been found to give any ground for 
this belief that a boat's crew from Bristol took part in this affair. 

The names of only a few of these who took part in the night's 
work have been handed down. In the different accounts which have 
from time to time appeared the following names have been ascertained : 
Capt. Samuel Dunn, Capt. Benjamin Page, Capt. Turpin Smith, Capt. 
John B. Hopkins, Joseph Bucklin, Captain Shepard, John Brown; 
Abraham Whipple, Ephraim Bowen, John Mawney, Captain Harris, 
Joseph Jencks, Justin Jacobs, Simeon H. Olney, Joseph Tillinghast.^ 

^This list contains more names than have hitherto been brought together; 
and for this reason the source from whence each was obtained will be usetul 
in establishing its authenticity. . 

On all of the lists which have been prepared there appears the name or 
Benjamin Dunn. This name is found in the account prepared by Col. h^pn- 
raim Bowen, when he was in his eighty-sixth year. Bartlett, m his account ot 
the affair, in R. I. Colonial Records, vol. vii, p. 72, gives a short biographical 
account of each of the persons named in Bowen's narrative, with the exception 
of Benjamin Dunn, which would lead to the conclusion that he could hnd no 
reference to such a person. Mawney, in his account, mentions a Capt. bamuei 



468 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Bartlett, in his account of the Gaspee affair, prepared from the 
Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and printed in the Colonial 
Records, vol. 7, concludes his account in these words, and no better 
conclusion can be made. 

"We close this publication, with the remarks of Judge Staples, inas- 
much as they contain the legal opinion of an eminent jurist, who had 
carefully examined the testimony ; and who, as a diligent historian, is 
familiar with all the events connected with the Gaspee affair: In 
reviewing the report of the commissioners our surprise is no I so much 
excited at the conclusion to which they came from the evidence before 
them, as at the small amount of testimony they collected. It would 
be doing great injustice to the memories and characters of Governor 
Wanton, Judges Horsmauden, Oliver and Auchmurty, to suppose that 
they suppressed any evidence, or did not exert themselves to the ut- 
most to procure testimony. The course they afterwards took in the 
war of the revolution, when they joined the ministerial party in the 
country, is a sufficient guaranty that they were, by no means luke- 
warm in the service of His Majesty. They Avere surrounded, too, at 
the time of their sessions, by the officers of the crown, and individuals 
high in rank and standing, who were eager in the chase of those who 
insulted their sovereign, in the person of his representative, Lieut. 
Dudingston. 

"Under these circumstances it is passing strange, that no persons 
could be found, who could indentify those engaged in the enterprise, 
or that the great reward offered on the occasion should not have in- 
duced some one to have turned informer. That the enterprise was 
suddenly conceived, there can be no doubt; but every circumstance 
shows, that no great care was used to preserve secrecy. They were 
called together by the beating of a drum in the streets. The collecting 
of boats, the assembling at a public house, the embarking from a 
public wharf, all must have attracted the notice of the inhabitants. 
Among them were some little conscious of the crime they were com- 

Dunn, with whom he was "very intimately acquainted", and a Capt. Samuel 
Dunn lived in Providence and died there in 1790; but the name of Benjamin 
Dunn does not appear upon the records of this period. It is quite reasonable 
to suppose that Colonel Boweu, in his old age, had forgotten the names of 
his companions in the affair, which occurred sixty odd years before, and thus 
perpetuated the name of a person who took no part in it. The names of 
Benjamin Page, Turpin Smith, John B. Hopkins, Abraham Whipple, Ephraim 
Bowen and John Brown, John Mawney and Joseph Bucklin are found in 
Bowen's narrative. Those of Simeon H. Olney, Joseph Tillinghast, Joseph 
Bucklin, John Brown, Abraham Whipple, and Samuel Dunn are found in Dr. 
Mawney's narrative. The name of Justin Jacobs appears in John Rowland's 
account in Stone's life of Howland, while the names of Captain Shepard, Cap- 
tain Harris, and Joseph Johnson appear in a list found in the preface to 
Catherine Williams's life of Barton and Olney; where she obtained them is, 
of course, impossible now to determine, but she lived and wrote during the 
life-time of many of the men who were engaged in the war for Independence. 
Solomon Drown, jr., while not an active participant, certainly lent encourage- 
ment to it by his presence and sympathy. 



The Wars and the Militia. 469 

mitting, and the penalty they were incurring. Mr. John Howland 
says, that on the morning after the alt'air Justin Jacobs, a young man, 
was parading himself on 'The Great Bridge', then the usual place of 
resort, with Lieutenant Dudingston's gold laced beaver on his head, 
detailing to a circle around him, the particulars of the transaction, 
and the manner in which he obtained the hat from the cabin of the 
Gaspee. It required sharp words to induce him to retire and hold 
his peace. There were others, probably equally indiscreet ; and yet not 
an individual could be found who knew anything about the affair." 

For man}^ years after the war four of the survivors of the Gaspee 
party occupied a prominent place in the parades ; on the Fourth of 
July they rode in a coach, carrying a silk banner on which was in- 
scribed their names, Turpin Smith, Ephraim Bowen, Benjamin Page, 
and John Mawney. This old, faded and tattered banner is preserved 
in the collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society. This society 
has also obtained a silver goblet, which was taken from the Gaspee 
by Abraham Whipple on the morning of June 10, 1772, a gift from 
Mr. David Fisher, of Kalamazoo, Mich., a descendant of Com. Whip- 
ple ; this interesting relic has ' ' passed through the hands of three of 
his descendants" and has never been out of the family until now. 
This is the only relic of the affair of that June night that is known 
to exist. In 1840, during the Harrison and Tyler campaign, a log 
cabin was built on the lower part of the lot on College street where the 
court house now stands. In this cabin were displayed several canes 
made of timber that came from the schooner Gaspee, contributed by 
Ephraim Bowen. Perhaps some of these may yet be preserved. 

Early in December, 1776, Job Watson, from his watch tower on 
Tower Hill, saw far out on the ocean the dread object for which he had 
been watching so long. The news that a squadron of vessels was headed 
toward Narragansett Bay was hurriedly sent through the Colony. The 
alarm companies assembled at their stations, and excitement ran high. 
On Saturday, the 7th day of December, "the British fleet of eleven 
vessels of war, convoying seventy transports, having on board six 
thousand troops", sailed into Narragansett Bay, up the west passage, 
around the north end of Conanicut Island, and anchored in Newport 
harbor. 

As soon as the intelligence of the arrival of the British fleet, and 
their occupation of the^ island of Rhode Island, reached Governor 
Cooke at Providence, he dispatched a letter to General Washington, 
apprising him of the threatening situation in Narragansett Bay. It 
was dated at "Providence, December 8, 1776, Past 10 o'clock P. M.' . 
It had been a day of trouble and anxiety to the people of Rhode Island. 
Messengers had brought to the governor the latest accounts of affairs 
on the island, and now, well into the night, he wrote : 

"Sir: — It is with great concern, I give you the disagreeable intelli- 



470 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

gence that the enemy with a fleet consisting of seventy-eight ships of 
war and transports, entered the harbor of Newport yesterday. 

"We had about six hundred men upon Rhode Island, who were 
obliged to evacuate it, with the loss of about fifteen or twenty heavy 
cannon ; having taken off the ammunition and stores, and the greatest 
part of the stock. The enemy have full possession of the island. 

"I am informed by General West and Lieutenant Baron, of the 
Providence, that they landed this morning about eight o'clock, with 
eight thousand men, who marched in three divisions ; one towards 
Newport, the second towards Rowland's Ferry and the third to Bristol 
Ferry; where they arrived time enough to fire upon the boats that 
brought over our last men, but without doing damage. 

' * I have sent repeated expresses to the Massachusetts Bay and Con- 
necticut. 

' ' The forces of the former are upon the march as I believe the latter^ 
also. 

' ' In great haste 
"I am your Excellency's most obedient 
"humble servant 

"Nicholas Cooke." 

Sunday morning the troops, under the command of Sir Henry 
Clinton, disembarked, part of them landing at Long Wharf, in New- 
port, while the main body of the army landed in Greensdale, in 
Middletown, near the residence of the Hon. Nathanael Greene, a 
grandson of General Greene. The island of Rhode Island was now 
practically in the hands of the enemy. That Sunday night was devoted 
to excesses of the wildest kind, for the soldiers celebrated their first 
hours ashore in revelry and pillage. Many of the islanders hurriedly 
left their homes, taking only such personal effects as they could con- 
veniently get together, while those who remained were subjected to all 
manner of abuse and insults, and were compelled to take into their 
homes the officers of the king's regiments. 

The arrival of the British fleet at Newport produced the most intense 
excitement in Providence. A town meeting was immediately convened 
"by warrant on Sabbath Day morning, December 8th, 1776", and the 
following preamble and resolution adopted, Stephen Hopkins being 
moderator : 

"Whereas, a large body of the Enemy have arrived in the Narra- 
gansett Bay and it is probable soon intend to attack this Town, and in 
order that proper defence may be made it is Voted That the Hon. 
Stephen Hopkins, Esq., Col. Joseph Nightingale, Col. James Angell, 
and Mr. Sumner be and they are hereby appointed a Committee to 
Examine the most suitable places for Erecting and making proper 
Batteries and intrenchments for the defence of the Public against the 
Enemy". They were directed to notify the governor as soon as they 



The Wars and the Militia. 



471 



had decided where such works should be built, that he might order the 
troops immediately to begin the work. It was further voted that every 
male inhabitant of sixteen years of age and upward assemble at the 
Court House Parade at three o'clock the same day, armed and 
equipped for active service. 

And that Sabbath morning the inhabitants of Providence were 
aroused to the alarming situation of the Colony, by hearing the town 
crier with his bell, and the towoi sergeant with his drum, as they 
hurried through the streets of the town, hoarsely announcing that the 
enemy was within the borders of the State and their homes and lives 
were in danger. 

The utmost activity was now necessary to guard against any surprise 
or attack on the town. The militia was constantly on duty, and steps 
were taken to put the town in the best possible position for defense. 
The State troops were posted at various points along the shores of Nar- 

ragansett Bay, and a constant 
watch was kept upon all move- 
ments of the enemy. 

In the month of June, 1777, 
a regiment of Rhode Island 
troops, under the command of 
Colonel Stanton, was stationed 
in the town of Tiverton, almost 
opposite the northern end of the 
island of Rhode Island. With 
this regiment was Major Will- 
iam Barton, a young officer, be- 
longing in the town of AVarren. 
About a year previous to this, 
when the British ships, under 
the command of Wallace, had 
been annoying and pillaging the 
unprotected settlements along 
the Bayside, Barton was sta- 
tioned at Newport. Here he 
remained until the arrival of the 
British army, when it became necessary for him to withdraw Avith his 
command and take up his station at Tiverton. Shortly after his 
arrival here he received his commission as major in Stanton's regi- 
ment. Plis stay at Newport had enabled him to thoroughly familiar- 
ize himself with the island and its surroundings, and the information 
thus obtained was destined to be of the greatest use to him, as subse- 
quent proceedings will show. 

In December, 1776, Gen. Charles Lee, of the American army, who 
had been for a short time commander-in-chief of the Rhode Island 



1 . -.-,il 


1 

m 1 




ci|S^„ • 




' :'j|f^^® ■"■„;.: 




■; ■ Hi .''1 


B^L..^.^^ Ill 


'^uB^ f 


■ ' ' ' 'iBBr ^ 


l ' ^t^^-} 


1 I^^^HI ..yj^/ ' ' ~ ^ II 





Gen. William Barton, 

The Captor of Gen. Prescott. 



472 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

department, while passing from the Hudson to join Washington on 
the Delaware, had been surprised, near Baskinridge in New Jersey, 
by a British scouting party and captured, and at the time when Barton 
was stationed at Tiverton was still a captive in the hands of the enemy. 
Barton was an ardent admirer of General Lee, having doubtless come 
in contact with him while Lee was stationed in Rhode Island, and he 
entertained for him a very high opinion ; he felt the disgrace keenly, 
that so eminent an officer should be forced to remain a prisoner on 
account of there being no one of so high a rank in the hands of the 
American forces for whom Lee could be exchanged. 

It was not until nearly a century had expired that the true charac- 
ter of Lee became known. Barton shared the same opinion that was 
held by many at the time and regarded him with the highest admira- 
tion, and thus it came about that the act which brought Barton undy- 
ing fame was induced by a desire to rescue from captivity "the most 





Photographic Reproduction of the Two Sides of a Medal struck up ix 
Commemoration of the British Occupancy of Rhode Island. 

These medals are of brass and are said to have been made in Holland. From the original 
in the collection of Mr. George T. Paine of Providence. 

worthless character which the Revolution brought to notice." If, in 
assigning a place in history to those whose perfidy and baseness are 
their only claims to recognition, then in writing the name of Lee it 
must precede that of Arnold. The more Barton thought of this mat- 
ter the more feasible appeared a scheme which he had at different 
times considered, of surprising the British General Prescott, in com- 
mand of the English forces at Newport, and making a prisoner of him. 

At this time Prescott frequently visited the house of a man named 
Overing, about five miles above Newport, on the west road leading to 
Bristol Ferry, and Barton's plan was to cross Narragansett Bay from 
the mainland, seize Prescott and carry him to the American camp. 

Not long after Barton had formulated the plan a man named Coffin 
made his escape from the Island and was brought to Barton's head- 
quarters. From him Barton obtained many details regarding the 
location of the Overing house and the number of men whom Prescott 



The Wars and the Militia. 473 

had with him for protection. The information thus obtained fully- 
decided him to carry out the project. As secrecy was the greatest 
element of the success of such an undertaking, he kept the matter to 
himself for some days, but at last he went to Colonel Stanton and un- 
folded his plan to him. This officer was greatly impressed and assured 
him that it was worthy of being undertaken; he further agreed to 
furnish him such aid as he could give him. 

Upon returning to his quarters he summoned a few of his confiden- 
tial friends among the officers and confided in them the existence of a 
plot involving a secret expedition, the details and object of which he 
declined to tell them. At this council were Colonel Stanton, Capt. 
Ebenezer Adams, Capt. Samuel Phillips, Lieut. James Potter, Lieut. 
Joshua Babcock, and John AVilcox. Barton asked if they had sufficient 
confidence in him to be willing to undertake this expedition without 
having anything further told them, and all assured him they had. 
This much, however, he did tell them, that it was necessary for the 
purpose of the mysterious affair that five whale boats be provided. In 
a few days these were obtained and the only thing now needed was 
men. 

By the colonel's orders, the regiment was ordered paraded. Barton 
then addressed his soldiers, telling them he was about undertaking an 
expedition against the enemy and wished to have forty volunteers ; he 
desired those who were willing to risk their lives with him to advance 
two paces. At this it is said the whole regiment advanced. To 
Barton this must have been a beautiful expression of their confidence 
in him, for none knew the nature of the work before thera.^ With such 
a body of willing and fearless men it was a small task for Barton to 
select his company, and this he did, picking out those most proficient 
in the handling of boats. 

The names of those who were selected and comprised the party were 
as follows: Capt. Ebenezer Adams, Lieut. Andrew Stanton, Lieut. 
John Wilcox, Lieut. Samuel Potter, Joshua Babcock, Samuel Phillips, 
Benjamin Prew, James Potter, Henry Fisher, James Parker, Joseph 
Guild, Nathan Smith, Isaac Brown, Clark Packard, Samuel Cory, 
James Weaver, Clark Crandall, Sampson George, Joseph Ralph, 
Jedediah Glenale, Richard Hare, Daniel Wale, Joseph Dennis, Bill- 
ington Crumb, James Haines, Samuel Apis, Alderman Crank, Oliver 
Simmons, Jack Sherman, Joel Briggs, William Bruff, Charles Hewitt,^ 
Pardon Cory, Thomas Wilcox, Jeremiah Thomas, John Hunt, Thomas 
Austin, Daniel Page, an Indian; Jack or Tack Sisson, negro; Howe 
or Whiting, boat steerer. 

There seems to be some ground for the belief that Sergeant John 

1 Life of Barton and Olney ; Williams. t-„io^^ 

^For a more extended notice of this soldier, see Magazine of New England 
History, vol. i, p. 216. 



474 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Paul, of Col. Topham's regiment, was also a member of this party, and 
the evidence of this is found in a carefully prepared pamphlet by 
Edward J. Paul, printed in Milwaukee, 1887, and reprinted in the 
Magazine of New England History, vol. I, p. 98. 

Everything being now in readiness. Col. Stanton handed to Barton 
the following order, the original of which is yet preserved among the 
manuscripts in the possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society : 

"Headquarters Camp at Tiverton. 
"5th July 1777 
"Lieut. Col. Barton, 

"You will proceed to the Island of Newport and attack the Enemy 
when and where you think proper and make Report to me of your 
proceeding 

"Jos: Stanton Jr. Colo." 






Order Issued to William Barton by Col. Stanton for the Expedition 
Resulting in the Capture of Prescott. 

From the original in the possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 

On the night of the 5th of July the party was assembled and em- 
barked from Tiverton and rowed out into Mount Hope Bay. Hardly 
had they entered this sheet of water before a violent thunder shower 
broke upon them. The wind blew with great violence and the boats 
became separated. It was not until late in the evening of the next 
day that the party again came together at Bristol, where they had 
agreed to meet if anything should occur to interfere with their plans. 
Here they decided to spend the night, but before retiring, Barton 
assembled his men in the boats and the party rowed down to Hog 
Island, a little island lying off Bristol Ferry and just beyond to the 



The Wars and the Militia. 475 

south of Popasquash Point. Upon landing, the party was called to- 
gether and Barton explained the nature of the expedition. The men 
M'ere astonished at the boldness of the plan, but not one of them wished 
to be released from his engagement. Then they returned to Bristol, 
where they all remained until the next evening, when, under cover of 
darkness, they crossed the bay and landed at Warwick Neck. For 
fear that the enemy's ships, in cruising about the bay, would notice 
the unusual number of boats, they were drawn up on the shore and 
hid in the bushes. At Warwick Neck the expedition was delayed for 
several days on account of a storm, but on the evening of the 9th of 
July the boats were got in readiness and the party embarked on their 
perilous undertaking. Before pushing oft' from the shore Barton col- 
lected his men and appointed each one to his station. To every boat 
there was a commissioned officer, exclusive of the commander himself. 
The party consisted of forty-one men. " In a subdued voice the Colonel 
gave his orders. First that they were to preserve the strictest order; 
secondly, not to have the least idea of plunder ; thirdly, to observe the 
most profound silence; and, fourthly, to take no spirituous liquors 
with them". He spoke a few words on the hazard attending the work 
before them, and pledged himself to share every danger, whatever it 
might be, equally with his soldiers. Then with muffled oars the five 
boats containing this daring party pushed out into the darkness of 
the night. 

Before leaving, arrangements had been made with the commandant 
of the Warwick Neck post that a sharp lookout be kept after the ex- 
pedition started, for it was expected that in the event they were dis- 
covered, boats might be sent from the British men-of-war to cut them 
off from reaching the mainland. In case anything should occur to 
interfere with the plans laid out, it was arranged that three shots 
should be fired, and upon hearing this a party should immediately put 
off from the Neck and go to the north end of Prudence Island and 
take them off. 

The boat containing Barton took the lead, and to distinguish it from 
the others a pole was set up on which was tied a white handkerchief. 
Barton laid his course between Prudence and Patience islands in 
order to avoid the enemy's ships, which lay near Hope Island, and 
continued southward hugging the western shore of Prudence Island; 
while turning the southern extremity of Prudence Island they came 
near enough to the British ships, the Lark, Diamond and Juno, which 
lay on the eastern side of Prudence, for them to hear the sentinels cry 
•'All's well". Fortunately, however, they were not discovered. The 
boats arrived within about three-quarters of a mile of the Island of 
Rhode Island, when the party were startled by hearing a noise like 
the running of horses. They rested on their oars, but the sound ceas- 
ing and no other demonstration being made, the order was given to 



476 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. _ 

pull ahead. It was not many moments before the boats grated on the 
beach and the company silently disembarked. A man was left with 
each boat with instructions to have them ready to push off in case any 
break in their plans should occur. 

The. Overing house, where Prescott was quartered, is just a mile 
from the shore. As you approach the house there is a little brook 
which crosses the road and flows to the westward down the hillside, 
forming a gorge ; through this gulley, up over the hill, the party in 
five divisions silently and cautiously made their way, "and found 
themselves just by the house ; the entrance to which was by three 
doors, south, east and west". Three of the five divisions were to 
attack each a door, the fourth to guard the road; the fifth to act on 
emergencies. 

The party approached the house and opened the front gate. As 



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Overing House, Middletown, R. I. 

The house occupied by Gen. Prescott the night of his capture. A portion of the house was 
destroyed by fire many years ago. 

they did so a sentinel advanced and demanded, ' ' Who comes there ? ' ' 
No reply was made and the party kept on ; a second time the sentinel 
inquired, "Wlio comes there?" All this time they had been advanc- 
ing and were nearly up with the sentinel when Barton answered, 
"Friends". "Advance and give the countersign", responded the 
guard. "We have none", said Barton, "but have you seen any de- 
serters to-night?" The apparent honesty of all this conversation com- 
pletely unarmed the sentinel, and before he realized that there was 
anything irregular in the proceedings, John Hunt, one of the party, 
sprang upon him, pinioned his arms, took away his gun, and told him 
to preserve silence under the penalty of instant death. 

Having disposed of the sentry, one party proceeded to the house, 



The Wars and the Militia. 477 

while the other divisions assumed the stations to which they had been 
assigned. 

The door was burst in and they ascended first to a chamber, which 
proved to be that occupied by Mr. Overing ; he was much frightened, 
and upon being asked where the general slept, pointed with his fingers 
to the apartment below. At first they did not believe him, but pro- 
ceeded to the next chamber, which was found to be occupied by Mr. 
Overing 's son. Not finding Prescott there they descended to the floor 
below. After they had searched the chamber without finding any 
trace of Prescott, Barton, as he stood on the stairs, ordered his men to 
fire the house, saying he was bound to have the general dead or alive. 
This order caused some one on the lower floor to exclaim, ' ' What is the 
matter ? ' ' Going to the room from which this voice emanated, Barton 
saw a man in his night clothes sitting on the side of a bed ; putting his 
hand on his shoulder. Barton asked him if he was General Prescott, to 
which he replied, "Yes." "Then you are my prisoner." "I ac- 
knowledge it, sir", replied Prescott. The general was then told that 
he must accompany them at once. He begged to be allowed to put on 
his clothing, but time was too precious for him to dress to any great 
extent, and with only a few clothes, he was hurried out of the house as 
quickly as possible. 

In the meanwhile another incident was taking place. Major Bar- 
rington, the general 's aid, was asleep in one of the chambers ; when he 
was awakened by the confusion in the house, he rose from his bed, went 
to one of the windows and jumped out. Such a proceeding had been 
anticipated, and he at once found himself m the hands of one of the 
party on guard outside. The three prisoners. General Prescott, Major 
Barrington, and the sentinel, whose name was Graham, were conducted 
to the boats. 

The way back lay through a field of rye, and meadows covered with 
blackberry vines, and as the sentinel was the only one equipped Avith 
shoes, the two officers experienced a severe scratching and were com- 
pletely exhausted when they finally reached the boats. The prisoners 
were placed in the boat with Barton and the order given to push off. 
As they did so the signal of alarm, three cannon and three rockets, 
came from the island; some of the household had spread the news and 
the whole camp was aroused. Barton and his party had a good start, 
and they proceeded on their way without being pursued. During the 
trip back across the Bay, Prescott, noticing the British vessels lying 
here and there at anchor, turned to Barton and said, "Sir, I did not 
think it possible you could escape the vigilance of the water guards". 

It was midnight when the boats landed at Warwick Neck. From 
here the prisoners were taken to Old Warwick, to a tavern kept by 
David Arnold. In order to reach this inn it was necessary to walk 
some distance. Prescott, whose feet were swollen and badly scratched 



478 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

from his hurried scramble over the island meadows, asked Barton if 
he could not procure him a pair of shoes. Through Barton 's efforts a 
pair was obtained from one of the officers at the Warwick Neck station, 
and Samuel Cory, one of the expedition, was directed by Barton to 
take them to the general and put them on. ' ' Sam took the shoes and 
Prescott protested he could not wear them, his feet were so swollen and 
they would not fit. But Sam very deliberately sat himself down and 
went about putting them on, saying his orders were to put them on 
General Prescott, not to see whether they fitted, and that he must obey 
orders". Upon arriving at Arnold's tavern the prisoners were as- 
signed to rooms, where they passed the night. 

The next morning they were driven to Providence and delivered into 
the custody of General Spencer, and in the course of a few days 





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David Arnold Tavern, Old Warwick. 

Here Gen. Prescott was taken after his capture by Col. Wm. Barton. 

Presscott was sent to Washington's headquarters in New Jersey, and 
in April or May following he was exchanged. It is doubtful for whom 
he was exchanged; by some it is claimed for General Lee,^ while by 
others for General Sullivan, who had been captured at the Battle of 
Long Island in August, 1776, and the solution of this seems likely to 
never be determined. Soon after this exchange Prescott resumed his 
command on Rhode Island. Much surprise has been expressed that 
Prescott should have been so far from the main army and from the 
headquarters which he had established in Newport. He also appears 
to have neglected to place a proper guard at the house, where it ap- 
pears he spent most of his nights for more than a month. This has 
been excused in a measure by an English writer, Robert Lamb, who 

*John Fiske in "The American Revolution" says Lee, vol. ii, p. 59. 



The Wars and the Militia. 479 

was a sergeant, during the war, in the Royal Welsh Fusileers, and who 
afterwards published a Journal of the American War ; in this he says : 
"The British troops on Rhode Island were divided into two large en- 
campments, one covering the town [Newport], the other subdivided 
into three parts, and stationed towards the northern extremity, and 
about half a mile from the western coast of the Island." 

It would be natural for a fellow soldier to palliate any indiscretion 
on the part of another, more especially a superior officer ; besides this 
he was bound to uphold the honor of the army. Notwithstanding, 
however, the reasons given by Lamb, there has been, ever since the 
event, more than a suspicion that something, besides a desire to be 
near the two divisions of his army, brought him to that part of the 
island, and this suspicion is intensified by a few lines which appeared 
in the London Chronicle, September 27, 1777, only a few weeks after 
the episode on the Island took place ; these lines were as follows : 

"On General Prescott. 
Being carried off Naked, Unanointed, Unanealed. " 

"What various lures there are to ruin man; 
Woman the first and foremost all bewitches. 

A nymph thus spoiled a General's mighty plan 
And gave him to the foe without his breeches. ' '^ 

In nearly all the accounts of Prescott 's capture the statement has 
been made that the door of the room occupied by the general was 
broken in by a powerful blow made by the head of a negro servant of 
Barton's; no mention of this, however, is made in Barton's OAvn story, 
which he afterwards prepared. 

Nearly all these accounts differ as to the person who did this act ; in 
each, however, it was a negro. Thatcher, in his "Journal", calls him 
Prince; Greene, in his History of East Greenwich, calls him Sisson; 
Lossing, in his Field Book of the Revolution, calls him both Prince 
and Sisson; Mrs. AA^illiams, who wrote the biography of Barton, says 
his name was Guy Watson, and afterwards identifies him with Tack 
or Jack Sisson, one of the party; and Prof. Diman, in his historical 
address, mentions an old negro named Quaco, who always claimed to 
have been the negro with Barton. While the fact that Barton makes 
no mention of this occurrence in his story does not necessarily prove 
that it did not take place, yet it does unfortunately prevent us from 
learning just who this headstrong fellow was. It is worth noticing, 
perhaps, that Jack or Tack Sisson, a negro, accompanied the party. 

Prescott was a small, feeble old man, peevish and tyrannical. He 
had made himself disagreeable to the people of Newport, from the 
time he first took command, by his arbitrary orders, and there was 

' Additional light is thrown on this subject by the Literary Diary of Ezra 
Stiles, D.D., LL.D., vol. 2, p. 182. 



480 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

much secret rejoicing among the inhabitants at the news of his cap- 
ture. 

The situation in Newport following this audacious capture is plainly 
shown by the brief entry which Fleet S. Green, of that town, made in 
his diary the next day, in which he says : 

"Last night came on the west side of the island, supposed to be 
about 10 men of the Provincials, marched up to Mr John Irving 's 
house, without the least opposition, carried otf Maj. Gen. Prescott, his 
aide-de-camp Mr Barrington, the sentry, and what others is not known. 
Immediately on the intelligence that the Gen. was carried off, the 
drums beat to arms, the Dragoons scoured the shore, but the bird was 
flown. The town appears in the utmost confusion at the loss of the 
Gen. confusion appears in every face, even the greatest friends to 
liberty are obliged to show some marks of sorrow at the loss of such 
an accomplished general ; but the sun appears very bright through the 
clouds that hang on the brow. Mr. John Miller carried to the Provost, 
this afternoon, for too publickly expressing his joy at our relief." 

Prescott 's headquarters in Newport were at the Bannister house, on 
the corner of Spring and Pelham streets, a house which is still standing 
and occupied as a hotel called "The Prescott". Soon after he as- 
sumed command and established here his headquarters, he had a fine 
walk built, for his accommodation, from the house along Pelham street 
and up Spring street, and by his orders the stone door steps to the 
houses in the neighborhood were taken for this purpose. 

The morning after the evacuation of Newport by the British the 
owners of these stepping-stones repaired to this private way of the 
general's, eager to secure their property, and before a great while this 
fine walk entirely disappeared. 

The house where Prescott was captured is still standing, but it has 
been greatly changed since that July night in 1777, for many 
years ago it was partly destroyed by fire. The house stand- 
ing at that time is now an ell to the more pretentious building which 
is seen from the road. It was in the old part that the affair took place. 
For many years visitors to this old house were shown a room in the 
chambers of the front part, and told that it was the room occupied by 
the British general on the night of his capture; but this part of the 
house was not built at the time ; an old broken door was also displayed, 
which was said to be the same door broken by the blow from the 
negro's head. These stories have entertained and apparently satisfied 
scores of curious visitors, and perhaps have done no great harm, except 
to mislead those who have afterwards chronicled them as facts. 

For this important service which Barton had rendered. Congress 
promptly extended a vote of thanks and directed a sword be presented 
to him, which was accordingly done. This sword is now in the posses- 
sion of one of his descendants. In December following his gallant act 



The Wars and the Militia. 481 

Barton was appointed aide-de-camp to General Green, and by vote of 
Congress was commissioned colonel. 

When General Sullivan was sent to take command of the military- 
affairs in Rhode Island it was regarded by General Pigot, then in 
command of the enemy's forces at Newport, as the first step in a gen- 
eral movement to attack him in his stronghold. He, therefore, resolved 
to annoy the American commander and delay such a project, if such a 
policy was contemplated.^ On the evening of the 24th of May, 1778, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, of the 22d Regiment, with a force of 
about five hundred British and Hessian soldiers, embarked from New- 
port on several vessels and proceeded up the bay under cover of dark- 
ness to a point between Popasquash Point and the town of Warren. 
Nearly opposite Rumstick Point, about half a mile south of what is 
known as Peck's rocks, in the town of Bristol, the party landed in 
tenders and small boats that had accompanied the expedition. It was 
near daylight when they landed. The invaders divided into two 
columns, one taldng the main road into Warren, while the other set 
out for the head of the Kickemuet River. 

At a point near the stone bridge which crosses the river were col- 
lected a large number of commodious flat bottom boats, which had been 
prepared for the transportation of the troops at the time of the pro- 
jected expedition by General Spencer; here also was a considerable 
quantity of stores, "pitch, tar, plank, &c.". Lying at anchor in the 
river was the row galley Spitfire- and some other small craft. All this 
material, boats and stores were set on fire and entirely consumed. The 
fire on the galley, however, was extinguished before the flames had 
done much injury and was taken in charge and carried off by the 
enemy. It is stated'^ that so unexpectedly and quickly had the attack- 
ing party arrived at this point that the crew of the galley were sur- 
prised while sleeping. In the mean time the second body of troops 
marched to the town of Warren, burned the Baptist meeting-house and 
seven dwelling houses, including the parsonage, blew up the powder 
magazine, abused and plundered the inhabitants, and took away sev- 
eral prisoners, among whom were the Rev. Charles Thompson, pastor 
of the church that had been destroyed, Major Sion Martindale, ]\Ir. 
Edward Church, and a number of young men. With the church and 
parsonage were also destroyed the records of the church from its 
organization in 1764, a loss which has been sadly felt ever since that 
memorable day.* 

Fessenden, in his history of Warren, has preserved the recollections 

^Gordon's American Revolution, vol. iii, p. 127. 

^Arnold's History of R. I. says "Washington". See Diary Fleet S. Green 
in Hist. Mag., 1860, vol. iv. 

3 Fleet S. Greene, Diary in Hist. Mag., 1860, vol. iv. 
*Tustin's Historical Discourse in History of "Warren, p. 137. 
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The Wars and the Militia. 483 

of eye witnesses to the appearance of the troops on this occasion as well 
as to some of their acts. 

"The British", he says, "were dressed in old fashioned red coats, 
cocked hats and small clothes, with a great display of laced trimmings, 
shoe and knee buckles. The Hessians wore enormous fur caps, and 
large, wide and loose boots, into which they thrust all kinds of articles 
pilfered from the houses ; and these articles, hanging over the tops of 
their boots, gave them a singularly grotesque appearance, as they left 
the town." 

From the appearance of one of these Hessian boots now hanging at 
Washington headquarters at Newburg, N. Y., it is certain that the 
aged person who thus described the footgear of the German hirelings 
did not exaggerate the story in the least. In this attack two Hessians 
at least were killed and one captured, and the stories of their losses are 
interesting and, while not authenticated by contemporary Avritings, 
have been passed down from generation to generation in family history 
as well established traditions. 

Two straggling Hessians from the band of marauders pursued 
their way towards Tyler's Point in Barrington, where they attempted 
to cross the river. Here at the point lived Moses Tyler, one of the 
substantial men of Barrington. He had heard the sounds of the 
musket shots at AVarren and had seen, too, the smoke and flames rising 
from the burning buildings in the town. When he discovered these 
two strange persons in an unfamiliar military dress trying to launch 
a boat on the other side of the river, he made up his mind that it would 
be well to watch them closely. Finally they succeeded in getting the 
boat afloat and both entered, and one taking the oars began to row 
across. As they drew nearer Tyler, who had now become convinced 
that they were British marauders, went to his house, took his gun 
from its resting place and proceeded down toward the shore. When 
they had come within hailing distance Tyler, standing by the water's 
side, shouted to them, ' ' Keep off ! Don 't you come a stroke nearer or 
I '11 fire ! " At the same time raising his gun. They paid no heed to 
his command and continued their course. Once more he hailed them 
with the same result, and as the boat was now rapidly drawing near 
the shore, he raised his gun, took good aim at the foremost man in the 
boat, and fired. His oars dropped from his hands and he fell back 
dead in the boat. His companion was not inclined to continue the 
journey longer, and hastily returning the boat to the other side, 
jumped ashore and hurried off to rejoin his company then ravaging 
Warren. 

With the assistance of some of his neighbors, Tyler secured the body 
of the dead Hessian, and it was decently buried at Tyler's Point, where 
the foolhardy fellow lost his life. In the boat lay the dead soldier's 
gun ; this was taken by Tyler, who preserved it during his lifetime and 



484 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

showed it when he had occasion to tell the story of his adventure at 
the Point. Upon his death it fell to one of his descendants and is yet 
preserved among the family treasures. On the occasion of the Centen- 
nial Celebration at Barrington, June 17, 1870, the old gun was ex- 
hibited, with many other curious and interesting relics, and was re- 
garded with profound interest from the thrilling story it awakened. 

On the east side of the Kickamuet River, in what is called Touisset 
Neck, lived David Barton, a brother of Gen. William Barton. David 
Barton was not so conspicuous in the war as was his distinguished 
brother, yet the same patriotic impulses beat within his breast. At 
the time of the attack he was at home on his farm, and the sound of 
musket shots and the clouds of curling smoke upon the early morning 
air gave him warning of approaching danger. In penetrating into the 
country the enemy had proceeded with great caution; it was not 
definitely known whether the neighborhood was defended by troops 
or not, and in order to prevent any surprise from the Americans and 
to guard against falling upon a superior force, the British commander 
had sent out scouts in all directions to discover, if possible, any sources 
of danger. Standing on his door step, scanning carefully the sur- 
rounding country, Mr. Barton saw suddenly a figure stealthily making 
his way across an open field, near his house, in which was a tall hay 
stack. As he approached nearer Barton recognized the peculiar uni- 
form of a Hessian soldier. He quickly entered his house, took down 
his gun from the pegs, loaded it, and watched the manoeuvers of the 
spy from a half-open window. This individual appeared to have his 
mind on that hay stack, and as he came up to it he examined it care- 
fully, and then having found a place that suited his convenience he 
began to climb up. Its height afforded an excellent place from which 
to get a good view of the neighborhood, and the fellow, unconscious of 
any danger, was soon at the top, where he lay down on his stomach, 
his legs hanging over on the side. As the man lay there within full 
view. Barton raised his gun, took good aim and fired. What the poor 
fellow observed never benefited him, for, with the discharge of the 
gun, he slid from the hay stack, dead. The old homestead of David 
Barton is still standing in Warren, a short distance south of Butter- 
worth's corner. 

During the confusion and excitement attending the attack on the 
town a number of the women had assembled together in a house on 
Main street, where they remained, thoroughly frightened, until the 
soldiers began to make their departure. ' ' They saw the troops pass by 
in hasty retreat, and at a short distance in the rear a single individual, 
encumbered with a big drum, unable to keep up with the main body." 

They grasped the situation at once, and when the main force was 
far enough in advance, these women sallied forth, surrounded the 
straggler and commanded him to surrender. He made no attempt at 



The Wars and the Militia. 485 

resistance, and when informed that he was their prisoner, said "he 
was glad of it, for he was faint and tired". This heroic act on the 
part of the women of Warren resulted in securing the release of one 
of their townsmen, who was exchanged for this captive drummer. 

Riding at anchor in the harbor of Warren was a newly built vessel, 
destined to be a privateer; this, too, was set on fire and destroyed. 
Having accomplished their object at Warren, Colonel Campbelf set 
out for the town of Bristol, about four miles further to the southward. 
The British commander had been instructed to ascertain, before fall- 
ing upon these towns, if there was any considerable force to oppose 
him, and if so to avoid bringing about an engagement. By intimidat- 
ing an aged woman living near the road to Popasquash, he ascertained 
the details of the situation at Bristol, ordered an advance, and the 
column took up its march down the present High street towards this 
thriving seaport town. The only force to oppose the attacking party 
was a small detachment of Colonel Archibald Crary's regiment, which 
was then quartered in the town. Had even this small force taken a 
decided stand against the marauders, Bristol might have been saved, 
for the British commander would not have felt justified in forcing an 
entrance if he was resisted. Crary's men, however, retreated and 
Bristol was left to the foe. 

The troops approached the town in irregular order, as the soldiers 
in small squads departed from the line of march to plunder and harass 
the people along the route. The first house entered was that of 
Joseph Reynolds, who was made a prisoner and carried off. As the 
main body of the British entered the town the small force of Ameri- 
cans retreated before them, thus leaving the town defenseless. The 
work of destruction w^as then begun and about thirty houses were set 
on fire and destroyed. Through mistake, they set fire and destroyed 
"the church instead of the Meeting-house", as an English historian^ 
ten years later expressed it. This was a church of England, St. 
Michael's, and laboring under the misapprehension that it was the 
Congregational meeting-house, it was burned. Some of the circum- 
stances attending this disaster are found in a letter from Mr. John 
Usher, jr., to the secretary of the society, written in 1784. "A mem- 
ber of the church acquainted the second in command under Colonel 
Campbell in that excursion, that the church had not been open since 
the connnencement of the war, for any purpose whatever, and the 
members of that church were friends to Government, upon which the 
Officer ran to the Church Door, but 'twas too late, the Pulpit was all 
on fire. Two minutes sooner would have saved the church." It was 
also related that when the sexton was informed of the destruction of 
the edifice, he evinced considerable surprise and was loth to believe it, 
"for", said he, "I have the key here in my pocket". Dr. Gordon, 
^Dr. Gordon. 



486 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the English historian, referring to the destruction of property at 
Bristol, says: "The destruction of" houses and places of worship was 
afterwards attributed chiefly to the licentiousness of the soldiers, who 
treated both friends and foes with cruelty, plundering houses and 
robbing women of their shoe buckles, gold rings, and handker- 
chiefs." 

The news of the depredations at Warren was received by General 
Sullivan at Providence about eight o'clock that morning, a messenger 
having hurriedly been dispatched at the first news of the approach of 
the enemy. 

Col. William Barton was at the time with his regiment at Provi- 
dence, and was informed of the situation in his native town almost at 
the same moment that the commander-in-chief was notified. Hastily 
collecting a few horsemen. Barton set out for Warren at a rapid gait, 
and as the party hastened along the road, aroused the country people, 
and by the time Warren was reached a considerable force had been 
collected and was following closely at his heels. The enemy had com- 
pleted their ravages here before his company arrived upon the scene, 
and had begun their work of destruction at Bristol.^ He was in time, 
however, to harass the rear guard and considerable blood was spilled. 
During this skirmish Colonel Barton received a painful, if not dan- 
gerous, wound. He was sitting on his horse, observing one of his men 
who was struggling to get forward, when, as he raised himself in his 
stirrups in the act of flourishing his sword, a bullet from the enemy 
"entered his right thigh, just above the knee, and glancing upwards 
lodged in the right hip". It was not until after the enemy had left 
the mainland that he made known the fact that he was wounded. He 
was taken to a neighboring house, where the bullet was extracted by 
Dr. Winslow, assisted by Governor Bradford, who, in his earlier life, 
had been a student of medicine and surgery. This accident to Colonel 
Barton prevented him for many months from taking any active part 
in the events which later transpired in Rhode Island. The British 
force retreated before the advancing body of Americans to Bristol 
Ferry, where the tenders that had accompanied the expedition were on 
hand to receive them. Before leaving, however, they succeeded in 
making prisoners the entire coast-guard at Popasquash, consisting of 
ten men under the command of Captain Westcott; these, with the 
others, were taken across the Island of Rhode Island and the next day 
were marched into Newport under a strong Hessian guard. 

^This was the second attack that had been made on the town of Bristol. 
On the morning of the 7th of October, 1775, a British fleet, under command of 
Lieut. James Wallace, appeared off the town with demands for provisions, 
and in order to enforce its demand opened fire upon the town, but no lives 
were lost or great damage done. Provisions were secured and the fleet with- 
drew. 



The Wars and the Militia. 487 

About thirty buildings^ were destroyed in Bristol before the enemy 
departed, and had it not been for the prompt response of Colonel 
Barton and his body of volunteers, supplemented by a detachment 
which later followed from headquarters, there would "have been little 
of the town left undestroyed. 

The day after this attack on Warren and Bristol, Governor Greene, 
alarmed at the boldness of the enemy and anxious for the security of 
the other towns and villages along the seaboard, sent the following 
communication to Governor Trumbull and President Powell at Con- 
necticut : 

' ' State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 

' ' Council Chamber Providence, 26th May 1778. 
" Sir : This is to inform you, that a party of about seven hundred 
of the enemy landed upon the eastern part of this State the night 
before last, towards break of day, and burnt about thirty houses and 
stores in the towns of Bristol and Warren; as also our tlat bottom 
boats, to the number of about seventy or eighty, which lay at a place 
called Kickemuit, which has greatly alarmed the inhabitants of this 
State ; especially as we have been for a considerable time past almost 
entirely neglected by our sister States not assisting with their quota of 
troops, according to the agreement entered into by the convention at 
Springfield ; and unless we can be better furnished for the future, I 
see nothing to hinder immediate destruction from taking place; for 
unless the major part of our militia are continually upon duty, the 
shores cannot properly be guarded ; and in that case, we shall very 
soon be deprived of the necessaries of life; that considering our un- 
happy situation, and how distressing the season has now opened, I am 
convinced I need not use any further arguments to convince you of 
the necessity of your States sending forward their troops with the 
utmost dispatch. 

"I am, with great respect sir, 
"Your most obedient, humble seivant 

"W. Greene. "- 

To protect the State from any further incursions of the enemy, 
one-sixth of the militia, independent and alarm companies, were 
ordered into service for the space of fifteen days, and measures were 
adopted giving power to General Sullivan, with the advice and con- 
sent of the governor, and in his absence the deputy-governor, to call 
out the various companies of militia to do duty in case of imminent 
danger. 

Another letter of Governor Greene's, written to the Hon. Henry 
Marchant at Yorktown, gives some additional facts regarding the 

^A list of the houses destroyed will be found in the Story of the Mount Hope 
Lands, by W. H. Munro. 

-Official Letters in office secretary of state, 1778-1779, p. 38. 



488 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

destruction at these towns, as well as the subsequent attack made on 
Fall River, for he says : 

"Before this reaches you it is very probable you will have heard 
that a large body of the Enemy in the night on the 24th of last month 
landed at Warren towards break of day and from thence made to a 
place called Kakemuet where lay our flat bottom Boats, and burnt 
about seventy or eighty. They then proceeded back to Warren & 
burnt the meeting house, parsonage house and Caleb Childs house as 
also the magazine in which was a considerable quantity of Powder and 
partly burnt one of our Galleys and a new Privateer that lay in the 
harbor; they then proceeded to Bristol where it is said they burnt 20 
dwelling houses and a considerable number of other Buildings and 
then imbarked on board their boats, carrying with them about sixty 
prisoners; among them was Sylvester Child & Parson Thompson of 
Warren. On the 31st following, being perhaps flushed with their 
former success, they again landed at Pall River wdth a body of about 
150 and burnt one house and a mill and were proceeding no doubt to 
burn the remainder of the Mills as there is two Corn mills and a full- 
ing mill upon the same stream, near to where they burnt the other but 
as there was a bridge to pass to the other mills which our people took 
up and then placed themselves behind a wall and then began to fire 
upon them they retreated with the loss of one man killed and one 
mortally wounded who I hear is since dead. ' ' 

A Newport diarist^ wrote in his journal under the date of May 25 : 

" At 2 o 'clock this morning the troops came down the river and landed 
at Long wharf. They report that 3 o'clock this morning they landed 
some miles below the town of Warren, marched up undiscovered, set 
fire and plundered the town without opposition, took a number of 
inhabitants prisoners ; proceeded thence to Bristol, set fire to the town 
and then embarked after burning 120 flatboats, took the galley Spit- 
fire with men asleep and burned a number of vessels. 

"This afternoon the prisoners were marched to town from Ports- 
mouth under a strong guard of Hessians and committed to the Pro- 
vost. 

"Among the prisoners were the Rev. Mr. Thompson of Warren, 
Major Martindale, Mr. Edward Church and a number of young men 
belonging to this town"; and on the next day he further writes, "The 
prisoners were all sent on board the prison ships. This expedition has 
caused universal joy among the Tories." 

Although the British army took possession of Newport and the 
Island of Rhode Island early in December, 1776, it was not until the 
summer of 1778 that a systematic plan to attack the enemy in liis 
stronghold was carried into effect, although an abortive attempt had 
been made in October, 1777, by Gen. John Spencer, then in command 

'Fleet S. Greene in Historical Magazine, 1860. 



The Wars and the Militia. 489 

of the military affairs of the State, to which action he had been stim- 
ulated by an act of the General Assembly of Rhode Island. 

During the occupation by the enemy of a part of Rhode Island 
territory, many wanton depredations had been committed upon the 
people/ Towns had been sacked and burned, the homes of the people 
had been invaded, private property had been confiscated, while the 
commerce of the State had been practically annihilated. 

The adjoining towns of Warren and Bristol suffered most severely 
from these incursions, but the hardships which the isolated farmers 
along the seaboard were forced to endure from the forays of small 
boats' crews were more distressing than the greater losses which more 
populous sections sustained. On several occasions small detachments 
of the two armies had met in conflict with honors about evenly divided. 

In April, 1778, Gen. John Sullivan, an otticer held in the higliest 
esteem by AVashington, arrived in Providence, succeeding General 
Spencer, whose administration of the military affairs of the State had 
been somewhat disappointing. At about the same time the joyous 
neAvs that France had entered into an alliance with the States aroused 
the drooping spirits of the people. 

General Sullivan at once entered upon his duties and inspired fur- 
ther confidence by the energy and zeal which he displayed. He 
promptly ordered additional defenses built, and to prevent any at- 
tempt at surprise in the northern part of the State, had the waters of 
the bay thoroughly patrolled by row galleys, and protected the port 
of Providence, where he established his headquarters, with a guard 
ship at Field's Point. Acting under instructions from General Wash- 
ington, preparations for a movement against the enemy on Rhode 
Island were commenced early in July. Sullivan was directed to or- 
ganize an army strong enough to insure the success of the enterprise, 
collect the necessary material to move such a body, and to generally 
familiarize himself with the situation of the enemy and its strength 
both by laud and sea. General Lafayette was dispatched to Rhode 
Island to join Sullivan with two continental brigades, Varnum's and 
Glover's, and Gen. Nathanael Greene Avas ordered to his native State 
to take part in the proposed expedition. 

The French fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Count 
D'Estaing, had only a short time before reached the American coast 
and was in the neighborhood of Sandy Hook, but the French admiral, 
finding that his services would be of little value there on account of 
the draft of his vessels, and that a greater field of usefulness was 
offered in Rhode Island, acting under the advice of Washington, left 
the Hook and sailed for Newport to co-operate with the American 

■The damage to property in the town of Middletown. R I., during the war 
was estimated at $137,777,1-6 (Newport Hist. Magazine, vol. i, p. 241). 



490 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

army in the proposed movements. All these preparations occupied 
the time until the 6th of August, when the two continental brigades 
commanded by Gen. James M. Varnum of Rhode Island and Gen. 
John Glover of Massachusetts took up their march for Tiverton, where 
the army was to rendezvous. Here Lafayette met them upon their 
arrival. The next day General Sullivan and his staff left his head- 
quarters at Providence and proceeded to Tiverton to take command 
of the expedition. 

The troops from Massachusetts,^ New Hampshire,- and Connecticut^ 
soon made their appearance. The resources of the towns in Rhode 
Island were severely taxed, and a body of about three thousand men 
were brought together for this expedition. In some of the towns the 
male population was almost entirely withdrawn, and the town of 
Westerly, under the date August 25, 1778, has inscribed upon its 
records, "the freemen being chiefly called away in the Expedition 
against Rhode Island". 

Major-General Heath, in his Memoirs, states: "The troops on 
Rhode Island under the command of Gen. Sullivan, were on the 11th 
10,122, including officers, exclusive of some volunteers from New 
Hampshire and other corps, arranged as follows, 

Varnum 's Brigade 1,037 

Glover's 1,131 

Cornell's 1,719 

Greene's 1,626 

Lovell's 1,158 

Titcomb's 957 

Livingston's advance 659 

West's reserves 1,025 

Artillery 810 

10,122"-* 
Among the papers of Dexter Brown, deputy wagon master-general, 

^The Massachusetts State Archives contain many rolls of the troops belong- 
ing to that State that were engaged in this alarm. 

^New Hampshire Revolutionary Rolls, ii, 500, 506. 

^It is generally stated that no troops from Connecticut took part in this 
expedition, but it appears from a letter written by Jonathan Trumbull, dated 
Lebanon, 26 August, 1778, to Governor Greene, that "Six companies are on 
their march to providence from this state". It is also added that there are 
"80 men exclusive of officers in Each company", while in an account kept by 
Thomas "Wicks of Warwick, whose home was the military headquarters in 
that town, (Revolutionary defences in Rhode Island, p. 94), he states, "Capt. 
bomen cum in my house ye 4th of Septembr [1778], went out ye sixth of ye 
month they was from Connecticut", doubtless on their march homeward. 

^From a Field Return of Troops on Rhode Island, August 16, 1778, in the 
office of the secretary of state, the number is given as "10,835 artillery 
included." 



The Wars and the Militia, 491 

there is one bearing the title, "A list of Brigades on Rhode Island 'V 
and the following are there mentioned : 

Gen. Titeomb, Col. Livingstone, 

Gen. Lovell, Col. Noyes, 

Gen. Cornell, Gen. Varnum, 

Col. Greene, Gen. West, 

Gen. Glover, Gen. Whipple, 

Gen. Tyler, Col. Crane. 

In order to prepare for the transportation of so large a body of 
troops in the movements projected, i\Iajor Silas Talbot had been or- 
dered to Tiverton to prepare eighty-six flat boats capable of trans- 
porting one hundred men each, for the boats which had been prepared 
for Spencer's expedition the year before and had been collected in 
the Kickemuet River were all destroyed at the time of the British raid 
on Warren. Besides these a "large number of the large flat bottomed 
boats" were to be conveyed from Weymouth, Mass., "taking the ad- 
vantage of the river to the vicinity of Rhode Island. "- 

A wagon master-general and a deputy were appointed, clothed with 
the power to hire or impress teams for the public service. Many of 
the accounts and papers relating to the wagon service in the expedition 
are now found among the manuscripts belonging to the City of 
Providence. 

The day following Sullivan's departure for the scene of operations 
the French fleet, under D 'Estaing, entered the harbor of Ne^^^)ort by 
the east passage, receiving, as the vessels passed the British batteries 
on either side, a heavy fire which the fleet as promptly and actively 
returned. The arrival of the fleet produced the greatest consterna- 
tion in the heart of the British commander, and in order to prevent 
their falling into the hands of the French, eleven vessels of war, with 
all their guns, stores and materials, were sunk or burned, the British 
losing by this action two hundred and eighteen guns of various 
calibres. 

It had been arranged between Sullivan and D 'Estaing that the 
army should move upon the island on the morning of the 10th of 
August, but on the morning of the 9th the information was brought to 
the American commander that the British had evacuated the works at 
the north end of the Island and had withdrawn within their lines three 
miles to the northward of Newport. 

It Avas an opportunity for an advance hitherto unexpected, and an 
opportunity of which Sullivan felt impelled to take advantage, and 
contrary to his understanding with the French count, he immediately 
put his' army in motion, and at eight o'clock on the morning of the 

'Providence Town Papers, 14790. 
2 Heath's Memoirs, p. 189. 



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492 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

9th the right wing, under command of Gen. Nathanael Greene, crossed 
over Rowland's ferry, followed by the other divisions of the army, and 
took possession of the abandoned works. Hardly had the American 
forces occupied the Island when it was reported that the British fleet, 
under Admiral Howe, which had closely followed in the wake of the 
French Admiral, was standing towards Newport. 

Simultaneously with the move- 
ment of Sullivan's army to the 
Island, about four thousand 
French troops landed upon the 
island of Conanicut to co-operate 
with the Americans. Upon the 
landing of this body the British 
works on the Island were hurriedly 
evacuated and the German troops 
there located retreated to Newport, 
spiking the guns and destroying 
the magazines, however, before 
they left. The depression which 
had prevailed within the garrison 
at Newport at the sight of the 
French squadron was at once 
dispelled by the news and sight of Howe's fleet, for the the American 
army in front of Newport and the powerful body just landed 
on Conanicut made a force double in number to that under 
Sir Robert Pigot, commanding the British forces. "When 
D'Estaing learned of the approach of Howe he at once made 
preparations to put to sea and meet his foe. The troops which had 
been previously landed on Conanicut were ordered to their respective 
vessels and the fleet was soon in motion, and, says an eye witness :^ 
"At nine o'clock [August 10] the English fleet was seen to stand out; 
it surprised us, but still it was thought it was only done to have sea 
room enough. What Count D'Estaing thought Heaven knows, for 
his haste was so great He cut all his cables and came firing through 
the Harbor as if the very Devil was in him, one-half the town went 
in the Neck to see a great sea fight, but returned exceedingly disap- 
pointed in a few hours. Then it was told, Lord Howe's strength was 
not sufficient to cope with such a fleet". During the whole day the 
two fleets were engaged in manceuvreing for the weather gage ; while 
thus endeavoring to obtain advantages a storm of unusual severity for 
this season of the year came on, which separated the fleets and pre- 
vented an engagement. 

Both fleets suffered severely from this tempest, which raged furious- 



Gardiner House, Old Warwick. 

The military headquarters of the troops 
located in Warwick during the War of 
the Revolution. Erected 1727. 



^Mrs. Almy of Newport, a royalist. 



The Wars and the IMilitia. 493 

ly for forty-eight hours. During it D'Estaing's own ship the Lan- 
guedoc, of 90 guns, lost her rudder and all her masts, in which condi- 
tion she was overtaken along in the evening of the 13th by the British 
ship Renown of 50 guns. A sharp but brief engagement occurred 
which was suddenly brought to a close by the appearance of six vessels 
of the French fleet, and the Englishmen, deeming discretion the better 
part of valor, sailed away. About the same time the Preston of 50 
guns came down upon the French vessel, the Torrent of 80 guns. 
This ship, too, was nearly as badly off as the Languedoc, having only 
her main mast standing, but darkness put an end to an encounter 
which otherwise might have resulted disastrously for the Frenchman. 
Three days later the British ship Iris of 50 guns and the French ship 
Cffisar met in a desperate engagement at close quarters. Both vessels 
had escaped injury in the storm and fought "with the greatest ob- 
stinacy for an hour and a half", resulting in the escape of the Casar. 
Both fleets suffered more severely from the elements than they did 
from their encounters, and the British admiral, after collecting his 
scattered vessels, sailed for New York for the purpose of refitting. A 
few days later, August 20, D'Estaing returned with his ships to 
Rhode Island and came to anchor near Newport. As they lay at 
anchor it was noticed from the town that the vessels were in a shat- 
tered condition; some had lost their topmasts and there was one ship 
less in the fleet than before sailing. In this condition the French 
admiral determined to sail at once for Boston to repair, for his fleet 
was in no condition to withstand another contest. 

The storm which had played such havoc with the two contending 
fleets severely affected the American army in its exposed situation on 
the island. The wind blew with great violence, driving a flood of 
rain before it, accompanied by thunder and lightning; m fact, says an 
observer, ' ' it never rained harder since the flood ' ', As night came on 
the tempest increased in fury, leveling the tents and so damaging the 
ammunition in the hands of the troops that the whole army for the 
time was practically defenseless. Several of the soldiers died from 
exposure, and horses, too, succumbed to this notable August storm. 
The next day the weather came off' clear, finding the American army 
in a deplorable condition. Both American and British officers agree 
that had the enemy made a vigorous attack on the 14th, the result 
would have been disastrous to the cause of the Colonies.^ Fortune 

^The British forces during the operation on Rhode Island consisted of the 
following regiments: Of the German aiixilleries there were the Regiment 
Landgraf (sometimes called Wutgenau) ; Regiment Prinz Carl; First Division 
of the Regiment von Dittfurth ; Garnison's Regiment von Huyn ; Garnison s 
Regiment von Biinan ; Regiment Anspaeh : Regiment Bayreuth, and Feld Jager 
Corps. Of this latter corps the Anspaeh chasseurs formed a part. Of the 
English army there were the following regiments: 4th, 10th, 20th, 22d, 38th, 
43rd, 46th, 54th, 56th, 71st Highlanders, Queen's Rangers, Prince of Wales 



494 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

favored the army, however, as the enemy kept within his lines, allow- 
ing the shattered troops to dry their clothes and recover from the 
effects of the storm. 

On the 13th Jabez Bowen, one of the Council of War, who was with 
the army before Rhode Island, sent the following communication to 
Governor Greene : 

"Tiverton August 13, 1778. 
"Dr Sir; 

"Genl. Sullivan has inclosed a couple of Letters for me to forward 
which contain all the particulars of our situation. The storm has 
been distressing beyond description to the soldiers and when it will 
clear away we know not. 

"The Genl. is determined to advance on the Enemy as soon as the 
weather clears up. The Event will be important to us and all 
America; may God Prosper the undertaking, please to forward all 
the cartridges in your power. 

"I am Sir 

"Your Humble Servant 

"Jabez Bowen ".1 

There is a vein of humor in the latter clause of this letter, but in 
those stirring days that homely old maxim to "trust in God and keep 
your powder dry" was a solemn and serious one. 

Early on the morning of the 15th of August, Sullivan put his 
army in motion and advanced down the island in three divisions, one 
by the East road, one by the West road, while the third, equidistant 
between the other two, took up a position on Honeyman's Hill and on 
the heights entirely to the northward of the hill, within tAvo miles of 
the enemy's works, where a battery of seventeen pieces of heavy 
artillery was established to cover their right flank and commanding 
the British works on Bliss Hill at Green End. Between these two 
hills is a deep ravine, terminating at the south at Easton's Pond, with 
a narrow pass separating the pond from the waters of the ocean. To 
prevent any attempt on the part of the American army from ap- 
proaching the toM'n by this means, the enemy, on the 19th, began to 
throw up a line of works commanding this pass and the ravine. For 
five days a heavy cannonading was exchanged between Sullivan's 
advance and the outer works of the enemy, when, on the afternoon 
of the 20th, the French fleet was discovered standing in. Early that 
evening General Greene and General Lafayette were dispatched to the 
flag ship Languedoc to consult with the French admiral upon a plan 
of action to be pursued. This consultation was prolonged until mid- 
Regiment of Americans, Queen's Regiment of Americans, a regiment of Gren- 
adiers, of Liglit Infantry, and of Light Dragoons. 

'Official Letters in office of secretary of state, 1778-1779, p. 126. 







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496 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

night, and the two officers left the ship with the disheartening in- 
telligence that D'Estaing felt obliged to withdraw his fleet and sail to 
Boston for repairs. 

Two causes led him to this decision : D 'Estaing had instructions 
from his king that in the event his fleet met with any disaster, to sail 
for Boston and repair; the fleet had met with disaster and was at 
that moment sadly shattered. There was another element which also 
had a great influence in the matter. D 'Estaing was a land officer and 
his subordinate officers in the fleet regarded his appointment over them 
as an insult and an injustice, and they ' ' crossed him in every manner, 
that looked like giving him any kind of reputation in order if possible 
to bring him into disgrace". 

All of his officers insisted upon his following the instructions from 
the king and entered their formal protest against the fleet taking part 
in the projected movement. The decision of the French admiral was 
surprising and disheartening to the American officers, and all united 
in a protest to this decision, which was transmitted to D'Estaing, but 
without eft'ect.^ He remained Arm, and on the 22d of August the 
French squadron sailed from Rhode Island and was soon lost to sight. 
The departure of the fleet produced almost a panic in the ranks of 
the volunteer troops in Sullivan's army; many of the men had never 
been in action and the effect was most disastrous. The time for 
which many had enlisted had expired, and within twenty-four hours 
between two and three thousand volunteers marched from the Island, 
and by the 23d of August the besieging army was so reduced that it 
was "little more in number than that of the enemy". 

Under these circumstances the folly of pursuing the course origin- 
ally laid out was apparent. Besides this, Sullivan, while in front of 
the enemy's works, had received information from General Washing- 
ton that Sir Henry Clinton had sailed for Newport with reinforce- 
ments for the British army. But, in order to show the enemy that he 
was not disheartened by the changes that had so rapidly and unex- 
pectedly occurred, Sullivan, on the 23d of August, directed his bat- 
teries to open fire upon the British works, and under cover of this the 
first preparations for a retreat were commenced. All of the heavy 
baggage which had followed in the wake of the army was hauled to 
the north end of the Island. In order to move this great amount of 
material all sorts of vehicles were hired or impressed into service, and 
messengers were dispatched to all the farms as far north as i^ttle- 
borough, and from thence all along down to Taunton; the returns of 
the wagon master show that they came from Berkely, Rehoboth, 
Providence, Swansey, Taunton, and Attleborough. Men were drafted 
from the ranks to drive them and the utmost endeavors were exercised 

'General Lafayette did not concur in this protest. 



The Wars and the Militia. 497 

to withdraw the army from the trap Avhich it had so unexpectedly 
entered. The wagon train was divided into sections in charge of a 
person designated as conductor. One of the returns made by '''Daniel 
Dagget conductor", yet preserved, is in the following words: 

"Rehoboth August 25, 1778. 
"An a count of teems Brot on the Island for the use of the continent. 
Elisha Carpenter 3 cattel & cart 

Daniel Lendley 3 cattel & cart 

Elkanat French 4 oxen & cart 

John French 3 cattel & cart 

Amos Brown 3 cattel & cart 

Josiah Pevoy 3 cattel & cart 

John Brown 3 cattel & cart 

tineas Claflin 4 oxen & cart 

Simeon Titus 3 cattel & cart 

John Eleck garder 3 cattel & cart 

Daniel Lane 4 oxen & cart 

Jacob Hoar 3 cattel & cart 

Daniel Dagget conductor." 

The following assignment of teams was made among the different 
brigades and regiments: 

"A return of teams on Rhode Island press 'd or hired 
August 23, 17781 

"Col. Crane's artillery Thomas Stevens 2 oxen 2 horses. 
Gen Varnums Brigade Asa Carpenter 3 cattle Comfort Peck 4 oxen. 
Col. Jackson detachment Jno Pike 3 cattle. 
Col Elliott John INIackee 4 oxen. 

Gen. "Wests Brigade William Ede 4 oxen Nehemiah Sheldon 4 oxen. 
Col. Noyes Regiment Samuel Periy 3 cattle John Daggett 3 cattle. 
Gen Titcombs Brigade Samuel Noyes 2 oxen & 3 horses Edward Trask 
4 oxen. 

Gen. Lovells Brigade Jona Ide 4 oxen & horse 
4 oxen Brightman 4 oxen Tucker 4 oxen". 

Without the co-operation of the French allies, Sullivan realized 
that retreat was inevitable, yet he was reluctant to recede from his 
position, and it was not until the 28th that the army began to withdi-aw 
from the Island. All of the heavy artillery and baggage had by that 
time been safely carried to the north end of the Island and com- 
munication with the mainland securely established. During the day 
Sullivan and his officers, in council of war, had determined to with- 
draw to the neighborhood of Butt's Hill, intrench themselves and 
await further intelligence from the French fleet. At the same time 
General Lafayette was requested to hasten to Boston and use his 

'Providence Town Papers, 14790. 
32 1 



498 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

influence with his countrymen to return and assist in the reduction of 
Newport. 

This mission Lafayette gallantly accepted and set off for Boston, 
seventy miles distant, where he arrived in seven hours. His efforts 
were unsuccessful. It is true that D 'Estaing offered to lead his troops 
overland to the scene of operations, but he would not consent to return 
with the fleet. With this answer Lafayette hurriedly returned, and 
by frequent changes of horses accomplished the journey in six and 
a half hours. 

During his absence the engagement, which has since been known 
as the Battle of Rhode Island, occurred. He was in time, however, 
to conduct the rear guard in its retreat. 

By two o'clock on the morning of the 29th of August "the army 
encamped on Butt's Hill, the right wing on the west road, and the 
left on the east road, with covering parties on each flank. Colonel 
Livingston's light corps was stationed on the east road, and another 
under Colonel Laurens, Colonel Fleming and Major Talbot on the 
west road, each three miles in front of the camp, and in their rear was 
the picquet guard under Colonel Wade. Such was the disposition of 
the American troops on the morning of the eventful day. At daylight 
of the 29th the British army in two columns marched out by the two 
roads. At seven o'clock the battle began". No more authentic and 
interesting account of the fight can be found than that given by the 
Hon. Samuel G. Arnold, the historian, in his centennial address on 
the anniversary of the battle, which was observed at Portsmouth, 
August 27, 1878, and it is therefore included here : 

"A series of heavy skirmishes opened the engagement, and a regi- 
ment was sent to reinforce each of the two advanced corps, with 
orders for them to retire upon the main body, which was done in 
perfect order. The accounts vary as to which column commenced 
the fight, one attributing it to Major Talbot on the west road; but the 
most circumstantial points to a spot near the Gibbs farm, where a 
cross road connects the two main roads, and to the field now included 
between the east road and a middle road which here runs north from 
the cross road and parallel with the main road. A broad field en- 
closed by stone walls at this corner concealed a portion of the American 
piquet. The Union meeting-house now stands at the southeast angle 
of this field. 

"Here the Twenty-second British regiment, Colonel Campbell,, 
which had marched out by the east road, divided^ and one-half of it 
turning to the left into the cross roads, fell into the ambuscade. A 
terrible slaughter ensued. The Americans, springing from behind the 
walls, poured a storm of bullets upon the bewildered enemy, reloaded 
and repeated the desolating fire before the British could recover from 



The Wars and the Militia. 499 

the shock. Nearly one-quarter of the ill-fated Twenty-second were 
stretched upon the field. Two Hessian regiments came up to their 
relief, but too late. The Americans, according to orders, had already 
retreated. A general assault Avas made upon the American left wing. 
This was repulsed by General Glover, Avho drove the enemy into then- 
works on Quaker Hill. Upon the highlands extending north from the 
hill the Hessian columns were formed. The American army was 
drawn up in three lines, the first in front of their works on Butt 's Hill, 
the second in rear of the hill and the reserves near a creek about half 
a mile in rear of the first lines. Between the two hills the distance 
is about one mile, with low meadow and, at that time, woodland 
between. At nine o'clock a heavy cannonade commenced and con- 
tinued the whole day. About ten o'clock the British ships of war 
and some gun-boats came up the bay and opened fire upon the Ameri- 
can right flank. Under cover of this fire a desperate attempt was 
made to turn the flank and storm a redoubt on the American right. 
The British right wing had already been repulsed by General Glover. 
The enemy now concentrated his whole force upon the new point of 
attack. The action became general, and for nearly seven hours the 
fighting was most desperate. Down the slope of Anthony's hill the 
Hessian columns and British infantry twice charged upon the forces 
led by Major-General Greene, composed of the four brigades of Var- 
num, Cornell, Glover, and Christopher Greene. These attacks were 
repulsed with great slaughter, 'and', says Governor Arnold, 'an eye 
witness told me that sixty were found dead in one spot; at another, 
thirty Hessians were buried in one grave'. 

' ' To turn the flank and capture the redoubt was to decide the battle. 
A third time, with added ranks and the fury of despair, the enemy 
rushed to the assault. The strength of the Americans was well nigh 
spent, and this last charge was on the point of proving successful, when 
two events occurred which turned the tide of battle. 

"Two Continental battalions were thrown forward by General 
Sullivan to the support of his exhausted troops, and at the critical 
moment a desperate charge with the bayonet was made by Colonel 
Jackson's regiment, led by the gallant Lieutenant-Colonel Henry B. 
Livingston. This furious bayonet charge, says an eye witness, imme- 
diately threw the balance of victory into the American scale. 

"And now it was that the newly raised black regiment, under 
Colonel Christopher Greene, justified the hopes of its leaders and 
conti-ibuted in no small degree to decide the fortunes of the day. ^ 
Headed by their major, Samuel Ward, and posted m a grove m the 
valley, thev three times drove back the Hessians, who strove in vain 
to dislodge" them, and so bloody was the struggle that on the day after 
the battle the Hessian colonel who had led the charge applied tor a 
'This has been made the subject of a most valuable essay by Sidney S 
Rider, Esq., in which is described the action of these colored troops. It is 
published in Rhode Island Hist. Tracts. 



500 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

change of command, becanse he dared not lead his regiment again to 
action lest his men should shoot him for causing them so great a loss. 
While the fight was raging on the right and center of the line, the 
JNlassachnsetts brigade, under General Lovell, attacked the British 
right and rear Avith complete success. Two heavy batteries, brought 
forward to engage the ships of war, obliged them to haul off. The 
desperate attempt to turn the American flank had failed, and the 
battle was already won by Sullivan. The British retreated to their 
camp, closely pursued by the victorious Americans, who captured one 
of their batteries on Quaker Hill. 

"Sullivan then desired to storm the works, but the exhausted con- 
dition of his troops, who had been for thirty-six hours without rest 




Hall House, near Bristol Ferry, Portsmouth. 

During the battle of Rhode Island this house was used as a hospital by the Continental forces. 

or food, and continually on the march, at labor or in battle, compelled 
him to abandon the attempt." 

A vivid description of the scenes within the British lines that 
August day is found in the account given by Mrs. Mary Almy, the 
wife of Benjamin Almy, of Newport, in her diary of events including 
and preceding the battle, written in the form of letters to her husband. 
Mrs. Almy was a pronounced Tory and resided in Newport during the 
time it was occupied by the British, while her husband was fighting in 
the patriot army. The author of the diary is mistaken in her dates 
of the events which then transpired, if her words have been correctly 



The Wars and the Militia. 501 

transcribed,] but they lose none of their interest on that account. Sat- 
urday morning she writes : 

"All is peace and quietness in the Town. The first news was the 
Provincials had moved their encampment, carried oE all their Artil- 
lery stores and Provisions and gone to the lower part of the Island to 
Secure their retreat. General Piggott gave orders for the 43rd and 
22d Regiments and the Hessian & Anspachers to pursue them by day 
light. 

"In a few hours a heavy firing was heard; he then gave orders for 
Fanning 's Regiment to go to their assistance, and two hours after, 
gave orders for the 33d to March directly, and for Fanning to return 
within the lines and at 11 o'clock sent a Light horseman to call the 
38th back. All was horror and confusion. The Hessians overtook 
a party in the AVest Road near the Redwood barn ; they pursued with 
violence ; the others retreated with prudence leaving the roads strewn 
with dead bodies. The East road was a scene of blood and slaughter 
from Cousin Almy's down to the foot of Quaker Hill. All the cross 
roads were filled with them and they kept up a smart firing till 2 
o'clock and then they began to bury the dead and bring in the 
wounded. Oh ! how many wretched families were made that day. It 
would have softened the most callous heart to see the cartloads of 
wretched men brought in, their wives screaming at the foot of the 
cart in concert with their groans; fine youths Math their arms taken 
off in a moment. In short its too far beyond my power of description. 
The horrors of that day will never be quite out of my remembrance. 
I quitted Company and hid myself to Mourn in silence for the wicked- 
ness of my country. Never was a heart more differently agitated 
than mine. Some of my good friends in the front of the battle here ; 
and Heaven only knows how many of the other side. Instead of in- 
quiring the news, or asking after a Soul a stupidity took hold of me. 
At last I shut myself from the family to implore Heaven to protect 
you and keep you from imprisonment and death. Every dejected 
look, and every jNIelancholy countenance I saw I trembled for fear 
they would say your husband lies among the slain or that he is 
wounded and a^ prisoner. Think you what a life I live, knowing your 
proneness to get into danger." 

Another resident- of Newport thus writes in his diary, that 29th day 
of August: 

"Saturdav August 29. Early this morning a report prevailed that 
the Provincials were leaving the Island. Immediately the English 
Regiments with the Anspach chasseurs and Hyn. Regiment of Ger- 
mans sallied from the line and attacked a party of Provincials on the 
road, but were beaten off with loss. The Provincials halted at Wind- 
mill Hill, and were followed by the King's Troops when a smart battle 
^Fleet S. Greene's diary. Historical Magazine, 1860, vol. iv. 

2 Newport Historical Magazine, vol. i, page 17. 



502 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

ensued. The 22d, 43d and Anspacli and Hyn Regts. met with great 
loss. At 10 o'clock they began to bring the wounded men into town. 
All carts are taken up to bring them." 

In the conduct of the retreat from the Island, Sullivan showed great 
skill and generalship. The sentries of the two armies were located, 
after darkness set in, A\dthin four hundred feet of each other, making 
it necessary to exercise the greatest caution in every movement that 
the American commander made. In order to mislead the British as 
to his real purpose of retreating from the Island, Sullivan directed a 
part of his troops to begin at once to fortify the position to which he 
had withdrawn, and had others employed in setting up tents, all of 
this being within full sight of the enemy. Meanwhile the teams were 
busy in hauling the heavy baggage and artillery to the water's edge at 
Rowland's Ferry, where all was safely floated across to the mainland. 
As soon as it was sufficiently dark to cover the movements the tents, 
which had just been pitched, were struck and the main army began its 
journey from the Island, and by midnight the whole body of troops 
were safely on the mainland. 

In all of the accounts of these operations it is stated that the retreat 
was conducted so successfully that not a man or piece of baggage was 
left behind on the Island, but the narrative of Lieutenant John Viall, 
of Johnston, who served gallantly all through the war, tells a different 
story, for he states that, "Being on piquet guard, they forgot to 
notify him at the retreat, and he fell into the hands of the British, and 
was kept for a long time in one of the prison ships in the harbor of 
Newport"; and Col. Israel Angell, in his diary telling of the events 
that day, states that Viall and fourteen others were taken prisoners. 

The boats in which the troops were transported to the mainland 
were in charge of men especially selected by General Glover, and were 
almost entirely Marblehead and Salem fishermen. Glover 's regiment^ 
was sometimes called the "Amphibious regiment", from the fact that 
nearly every man in it had followed the sea. His men had performed 
a similar service at another critical period, for it was these hardy 
sailor boys who manned the boats in Washington's retreat from Long 
Island. This regiment seems to have been providentially at hand 
when the service which it was peculiarly fitted to perform was most" 
in demand. The following certificate- gives the names of two of the 
men in charge of General Sullivan 's boat during these operations : 

"Providence May 12, 1779. 
"This may certify that Mr. John Angell served ^^^th me in Gen. 
Sullivan's boat Twenty days in the Expedition against Newport Last 
summer. Test John Brown." 

^A complete list of the men in General Glover's Massachusetts regiment is 
printed in Rhoades's History of Marblehead. 
^Providence Town Papers, No. 1680. 



The Wars and the Militia. 503 

In the midst of the retreat General Lafayette, who had ridden from 
Boston with the message from the French admiral, arrived upon the 
scene. He was sorely disappointed at not having been present during 
the more active operations of the battle, but was yet of great service 
in covering the retreat, being in command of the rear guard. 

Conspicuous in these movements were the services of a company 
known as General Sullivan's Life Guards. It consisted of picked men 
from the various regiments in Sullivan's army, most of whom were 
from Rhode Island regiments ; four of the men in this company, Aaron 
Mann, Levi Hoppin, George Potter and John Westcott, were publicly 
thanked by General Sullivan in the following General Order : 

"Headquarters September 10, 1778. 
"General Orders for the day— To-morrow. 

"At the gallant behavior of the General's Guards, on Rhode Island, 
the General expresses his highest satisfaction, and returns them his 
thanks, and appoints Aaron Mann, who commanded the Guards on 
Rhode Island, to the rank of Captain, Levi Hoppin, First Lieutenant, 
George Potter, Second Lieutenant, and John "Westcott, Ensign. The 
General assures them they shall have the Commissions as soon as pos- 
sible. John Sullivan." 

Subsequently the Council of War directed commissions to issue. 

At the time of the engagement, this body was commanded by Aaron 
Mann, then sergeant of the company, and was located in a most ex- 
posed position. Years afterwards when Captain Mann made applica- 
tion for the benefit of a pension, Levi Lee, of Cumberland, a member 
of the company, testified to the bravery and daring shown by his com- 
mander on the occasion, and stated at a certain point in the heat of 
the action, while Mann was in the act of flourishing his sword, a bullet 
struck his hand, shooting away one of his fingers, but he maintained 
his position, remarking as he viewed his injured member, "The 

d eternal souls shoot pretty close. Don't mind, my boys, stick 

to 'em". 

Obadiah Brown, one of the company, was killed in the retreat, while 
another, Charles Scott, was made a cripple from a shot in the hip. 
There is no roU of this company in the State archives and only one is 
known to be extant,^ and for that reason is here inserted. It is for a 
period some time later than that when its conspicuous service was 
performed, and is made up as follows : 

"A Paye Abstract of Major Gen. Sullivan's Life Guards, Com- 
manded by Aaron Man Captaine from the 16th of December 1778 
Untill the 16 March 1779 Three Months Aaron Man Capt, Levi 
Hoppin Lieut, George Potter Lieut, John Westcott Ensign, Whipple 

'The property of Fred A. Arnold, Esq., of Providence, R. I. 



504 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Crow 1 Sargt, Jsreal Low 2 do, Isaac Manchester 3 do, Jsaac Clapp 4 
do, Nathan Swetland 1 Corp, Amos Chase 2 do, Caleb Teel 3 do, Daniel 
Bowen 4 do, William Grafton Drum, Arthur Fenner fifer, John Wil- 
liams, Saml Oxx, Joseph Pool, Arates Swetland, Sam Mackintosh, 
Darus Antram, Henry Warner, Christr Bates, Jerard Baly, John 
Greene, John Lewis, Jona Parker, Stephen Maxen, Joseph Davis, 
Pardon Sheldon, Zebelon Freeman, Benj Mathews, Saml Giles, Shu- 
brig Rampyr, Edward AVilliams, William Ladd, Caleb Kinyon, Au- 
gustus Hanen, Clarke Hitchcock, Wart Stillman, Timothy Chatman, 
Robart Jackson, Joseph Bendy, Eseck Smith, Nicholas Jencks, Foarde 
Westcott, John A. Shaft, Ephriam Smith, Thomas Davis, Rufus San- 
ders, Jesse King, Lewis Rowland, Joshua Remington, Comfort Wether- 
head, Jsaac Harte, John Benjamin, Randall Rice, Benj Dexter, Henry 
Randall, James Wardwell, John Monrow, Charles Walker, Aholiat 
Branch, Nicholas Branch, Levi Lee, Peleg Peck, William Reed, James 
Hunton, Charles Scott, Paul Brumley, Antram Fenner, Morris 
Tucken, Stephen Remington, Jeremiah Chace, Rupee Bacholler, 
Archable Jackson. ' ' 

From the endorsement on this roll it appears that Joseph Pool was 

from Colonel Elliott's Regiment, while others were from Colonel 

Crary's and Colonel Topham's regiment. The roll is subscribed and 

sworn to by "Aaron Man Capt. and John Westcott Ensign". 

The losses sustained in this battle are variously estimated.^ 

After crossing to the mainland Sullivan established his headquar- 

^Dr. Gordon, in his American War (Brit.), vol. iii, p. 167, gives Americans, 
liilled 30, wounded 132, missing 44. British liilled 38, wounded 210, miss- 
ing 12. 

Ramsay's American Revolution, vol. 2, p. 128, says: "The loss on each 
side was between two and three hundred." 

General Heath, in his Memoirs, p. 193, gives Americans killed 60, wounded 
180, loss of the British unknown. 

Max von Ellking, Die deutsclien Hulfstruppen im nordamerikanischen 
Befreiungskriege, 1776 bis 1783, vol. ii, pages 30-44, gives German loss 19 
killed, 96 wounded, 13 missing. 

See also Lowell's Hessians in the Revolution, p. 219. 

Sir Robert Pigot, in his report in Stone's French Allies, p. 114, gives loss 
as follows: 

"One captain; one volunteer; four sergeants, thirty-one rank and file, one 
drum, killed. Two captains, five lieutenants, seven ensigns, thirteen ser- 
geants, one drummer, one hundred and eighty rank and file, two drivers, 
wounded. One lieutenant, one sergeant, ten rank and file missing." 

General Sullivan, in his report to the president of Congress, in R. I. His- 
torical Tract No. 6, states: "It has been ascertained that the enemy's loss in 
the action of the twenty-ninth of August, amounts to a thousand and twenty- 
three killed, wounded and missing." His own loss he states to be two hun- 
dred and eleven killed, wounded and missing. 

Stedman, in his American War (Brit.), vol. ii, p. 36, says: "The loss of 
the provincials in killed, wounded and missing, during the various engage- 
ments of this day, amounted to two hundred and eleven men including offi- 
cers; and so obstinately did they dispute the ground with their pursuers, that 
the loss of the British troops was not much inferior." 



The Wars and the Militia. 505 

ters at Tiverton, and two days after the battle issued a general order 
dismissing- the militia which had been called out for this enterpi-ise.' 

The regular army, however, was disposed of at various points along 
the bay side, so as to be at hand if the enemy, elated at its success on 
the island, should attempt to make any further incursions. General 
Cornell's brigade was stationed at Tiverton. General Varnum's 
brigade was ordered to Bristol and Warren. The troops under Gen- 
eral Glover and Colonel Jackson established a post at Providence, 
Colonel Greene's detachment garrisoned at East Greenwich, General 
Tyler's at Warwick Neck, while General Lovell's and General Tit- 
comb's brigades took post at Pawtuxet. Ma j. -Gen. Nathanael Greene 
commanded on the western shore, General Lafayette on the eastern 
shore, and the force at Providence was under the command of General 
Glover. 

Colonel Jackson's regiment remained at Providence until the 10th 
of July, 1779, when it marched to form a part of the Penobscot expedi- 
tion. During its stay at Providence, Dr. James Thatcher, the author 
of the Military Journal of the American Revolution, joined the regi- 

Marshall, in his Life of Washington, vol. iii, p. 509, says: "According to 
the return made by General Sullivan, his loss in killed, wounded and missing 
was two hundred and eleven". The return of losses by General Pigot was 
two hundred and sixty. Arnold's oration on anniversary of the battle, Aug. 
29, 1878, in R. I. Hist. Tracts No. 6, page 29, gives American loss 211, British 
1,023. 

'The following muster and pay rolls for the period covered during the 
operations on Rhode Island will give the names of Rhode Island officers and 
men who participated in the battle. That this list is complete is of course 
doubtful, owing to the imperfect condition of the military records of this 
period. These rolls are in the office of the Secretary of State. 

A pay abstract for the Company of the Captain General's Cavaliers for 
services in the late expedition to Rhode Island from July 26 to August 31, 
1778, vol. iv, p. 42. 

A pay roll or abstract of Captain William Whipple's Company in Col. 
Topham's Regiment from the 16th of August to the 16th of September, 1778, 
vol. iv, p. 63. 

The following Muster and Pay rolls of Companies in Colonel Israel Angell s 
Second Rhode Island Regiment in the Continental Service of General James 
M. Varnum's Brigade. Captain Stephen Olney's Company for August and 
September, 1778, vol, iii, p. 87. 

Captain William Humphrey's Company for August and September, 1778, 
vol. iii, p. 122. 

Captain William Hughes's Company for August and September, In 8, vol. 

iii. P- 109- ,, -.nno 1 ••• 

Captain William Tew's Company for August and September, 1778, vol. ni, 

Captain David Baxter's Company for August, 1778, vol. iv, p. 36 

Captain William Potter's Company for August, 1778, vol. m, p 110. 

A pay roll of Captain Andrew Harris's Company in Col. John Mathewson s 
Regiment in the service of the United States, Second Division.' The time 
covered is from August 21 to 31, 1778, vol. iii, p. 59. a^^^'o 

A pay abstract to the United States of America of Captain James Snow s 



506 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

ment as surgeon, having been invited by Dr. Townsend, then the 
surgeon in the military hospital of Providence. In his journal he 
makes frequent reference to his visits in the adjoining country. After 
the return of the troops from this expedition, Jackson's regiment was 
ordered again to Proiddence, where it arrived on the 28th of Septem- 
ber and encamped at Fox Point. The Sunday following its arrival 
Thatcher writes in his journal: "I rode with several officers to Paw- 
tuxet, to attend the religious services of the celebrated Mr. Murray,^ 
whose professed doctrine is the universal salvation of mankind. Mr. 
Murray is not admitted into the pulpit of the orthodox clergy; his 
peculiar sentiments are revolting to the consciences, and repugnant to 

Company in Col. John Mathewson's Regiment tliat served in the late Expedi- 
tion to Rhode Island in August, 1778. The time covered is from August 21 to 
31, 1778, vol. iii, p. 60. 

A pay abstract of Captain Fred Williams's Company in Col. John Math- 
ewson's Regiment in the second division on an Expedition against Newport. 
The time covered is from August 21 to 31, 1778, vol. iii, p. 60. 

Pay abstract of Captain Keene's Company in Col. John Mathewson's Regi- 
ment from August 21 to September 1, 1778 on duty in the expedition against 
Rhode Island, vol. iii, p. 77. 

Pay roll of Field and Staff officers of a Rhode Island Battalion of Foot in 
Service of the United States of America commanded by Col. Israel Angell, for 
the month of August and September, 1778, vol. iii, p. 77. 

General abstract of a Rhode Island Battalion commanded by Col. Israel 
Angell from August 1 to September 30, both days inclusive, 1778, vol. iii, p. 84. 

Among the Military Papers in the possession of the Rhode Island Histori- 
cal Society is the 

Abstract of pay of Captain Joseph Sprague's Company of militia in Colonel 
Chad Brown's Regiment in the second division against Rhode Island. The 
time of service was from August 21 to 31, 1779. No. 330. 

Among the manuscripts in the private collection belonging to Fred W. 
Arnold, Esq., of Providence, is 

A pay abstract of Captain Amos Whipple's Company in Col. John Mathew- 
son's Regiment, 2d division. The time of service was from August 21 to 
September 1, 1778. 

In Volume iii, p. 550, of the Rhode Island Colonial Records, the following 
reference is found to Colonel Archibald Kasson's Battalion. 

Colonel Archibald Kasson's battalion in the second division in the expedi- 
tion upon Rhode Island consisted of the following companies from the 21st 
of August, 1778, to the 31st of August, 1778, both days included: Captain 
Rhodes's Company; Captain Hopkins's Company; Captain Randall's Com- 
pany; Captain Willard's Company; Captain Johnson's Company; Captain 
Draper's Company; Captain Ray's Company; Captain Weaver's Company; 
Colonel Chad Brown's Regiment was included in the second division in this 
expedition, as was also Colonel John Mathewson's regiment. Mathewson's 
was the first regiment of the County of Providence and Brown's was the 
second regiment of the County of Providence. 

There are many company lists in the State Archives and among the Rhode 
Island Historical Society's manuscripts referring to the Expedition against 
Rhode Island, but they cover a time previous to the day of the battle. 

^Mr. Murray sometimes preached in the Beneficent Congregational Church 
in Providence, and also at the Old Town House. See Staples's Annals of 
Providence, p. 451 and 475. 




FLAG CARRIED BY ANGELL'S SECOND RHODE ISLAND REGIMENT 
DURING THE Revolutionary War. It is Preserved With That o^Jhe First 
Rhode Island Regiment in the State House at Providence ^^i^L^^'^S? 
Two Regiments were Consolidated- January 1, 1781-Both Became the 
Colors of the Rhode Island Regiment. Presented to the State b^ Jere- 
miah Olney, the Last Colonel of the Regiment, in Behalf of the Officers 
of the Regiment. 



508 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 

the belief of a large proportion of the people of New England. In this 
village the people are destitute of an ordained minister. The audience 
was numerous and the preacher peculiarly eloquent; freely and sol- 
emnly declaring the sentiments which he has adopted and quoting 
various portions of Scripture to enforce a belief in the opinions which 
his own conscience and judgment approve." 

The regiment left Providence early in November and took up its 
march to the westward. 

On the 11th of October, 1779, a large fleet of transports arrived in 
Newport harbor, for the purpose of transporting the British army, 
which had been in possession of the town and a portion of the State 
for nearly three years. 

Col. Israel Angell, of the Second Rhode Island Regiment, whose 
headquarters was at Barber's Heights, a commanding eminence on the 
west shore of the bay in North Kingstown, notes his observations of 
the movements of the enemy during the days following the arrival of 
the transports. On the 20th of October he says : ' ' This day I sent a 
boat to reconnoiter Conanicut, to see what discoveries was to be made. 
Ensign Wheaton went in the boat and brought off one Jonathan 
Greene, a very sensible young man, who lived within the lines, who 
informed us that the enemy was going to evacuate the island, had got 
all their heavy baggage and cannon on board, had burnt their plat- 
form in the North Battery". On the 22d he notes: "There was 
some hundreds of people out of the country on the hill looking out to 
see the fleet go off, but the wind not being fair prevented their sail- 
ing". It was not until the 25th that the enemy sailed, and the de- 
parture of the troops, which had menaced the people of Rhode Island 
so long, is thus quaintly expressed by Angell in his diary : ' ' October 
25, 1779. A fine pleasant morning and the fleet remains the same as 
yesterday, about the middle of the day the enemy begun to burn their 
barracks and great movement was seen among them, there was a great 
number of people in camp to see the fleet sail, among the crowd was 
Governor Green's lady and daughter, the Britains was busy in Im- 
barking all the afternoon, by sunset was all on board and the fleet set 
sail just after sunset before eleven o'clock in the morning was all 
without the light house and we making preparations to take possession 
of the town". 

The French army, destined to play an important part in the struggle 
for American independence, arrived in America in July, 1780. The 
force sailed from France in twelve ships of war and thirty-two trans- 
ports. Six thousand troops, commanded by Lieutenant- General le 
Comte de Rochambeau. The regiments were the Bombonnois, Royal 
Deux Ponts, Soissonnois Saintonge and Louzon's Legion, with a bat- 
talion of artillery, a corps of sappers and miners, and of the Royal 




2 > 



a 






510 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Guides. On the 11th of July the army landed in Newport and at once 
occupied the works which had been in the possession of the English 
army. These works were repaired and strengthened. The arrival of 
the French allies was hailed with joy throughout the country. During 
the French occupancy of Newport, Rochambeau had his headquarters 
at the Vernon house, a house still standing, situated on the corner of 
Clarke and Mary streets. 

During the years immediately following the Revolution great in- 
terest was manifested in the militia by the people of Rhode Island. 
The heroes of the war which had just closed entered with all the en- 
thusiasm that had characterized their connection with active service, 
and many of them held commissions in the various commands. 

Besides the regular militia regiments provided by the State laws for 
the different counties, innumerable independent commands were or- 
ganized, each of which seems to have tried to secure a name that would 
give it prominence and inspire a martial spirit. Before the beginning 
of the nineteenth century there had been chartered by the General 
Assembly the following independent military organizations : Captain- 
General Cavaliers, United Company of the Train of Artillery, Paw- 
tuxet Rangers, Glocester Light Infantry, Washington Independent 
Company of Exeter, North Kingstown Rangers, Charlestown Inde- 
pendent Company, Coventry Rangers, Cranston Blues, Smithfield 
Grenadiers, The Governor's Independent Company of Light Infantry, 
Scituate Hunters, Kingstown Reds, Washington Cavalry, Johnston 
Rangers, Newport Guards, Governor's Independent Company of 
Volunteers, Bristol Train of Artillery, Cumberland Light Infantry, 
Ready Volunteers, West Greenwich and Coventry Light Infantry, 
Kentish Guards, Kentish Light Infantry, Federal Blues, Portsmouth 
Light Infantry, Foster Safe Guards, Tiverton and Little Compton 
Dragoons, Bristol Grenadiers, Glocester Grenadiers, Kentish Troop of 
Horse, Newport Artillery Company, and Providence Independent 
Dragoons. In later years other independent companies sprang into 
being, the most prominent of which were The First Light Infantry 
Regiment, the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery, and the Warren 
Artillery. 

On the 18th of June, 1812, war was declared by the Congress of the 
United States against Great Britain. 

Almost with the declaration of hostilities the principal part of the 
United States troops which were stationed at Fort Adams and in 
Newport harbor, and which were thought necessary for the proper 
protection of the State even in time of peace, were withdrawn from its 
borders. At the same time the State was called upon to furnish 500 
men, including officers, its quota of the 100,000 men ordered to be 
raised for the war. The defenseless condition of the State, with ugly 



The Wars and the Militia. oil 

rumors of British war vessels hovering on the coast, produced a feeling 
of great uneasiness among the people. The State was placed in a 
perilous situation. Governor Jones had promptly called upon the 
president for arms, ordnance and ammunition to equip the State's 
militia, but his requisitions were for a long time disregarded, and it 
was late in October before he received an order for 1,000 stand otf 
arms, only half the number necessary for the equipment of the State's 
force. The forts and batteries along the bayside and seacoast had re- 
mained idle and deserted for many years, the embankments were 
washed away in many cases, and their equipment of ordnance, insuffi- 
cient at its best, was scattered. "Under the circumstance", says 
Governor Jones, in his message to the General Assembly at its October 
session, "should the President of the United States refuse to supply 
this State with the Ordnance and ammunition, for which I was re- 
quested to apply, and the protection the general government were in 
duly bound to afford, and for which this State has contributed so 
largely, and leave us to the mercy of an invading army, it will not only 
be the duty of every citizen to be prepared for that event, but of the 
General Assembly to make an appropriation in aid thereof, to whicli 
I request your attention." 

On the 21st of July General Dearborn sent a request to Governor 
Jones for two companies of artillery and two of infantry, with a major 
for immediate service, to man the forts and batteries at Newport. 
Authority was given the independent companies in the State to in- 
crease their ranks, and the acts and orders of the General Assembly, 
providing ways and means for prosecuting the war, which had been 
introduced and passed closely upon the declaration of hostilities for 
more than a hundred years, were again m different form submitted 
for the consideration of the legislators. In February, 1813, Governor 
Jones reported that 1,000 stand of arms had been received from the 
general government, and that 500 of them had been assigned to the 
town of Newport and 500 to the town of Providence. An account of 
the ordnance in the custody of the State showed that there was one 
pair of brass field pieces in the care of the Newport Artillery, com- 
manded by Col. Benjamin Fry. One pair in the care of the Artillery 
Company in the town of Warwick, commanded by Col. Charles Bray- 
ton, and one pair in the care of the Artillery Company of Bristol, 
commanded by Col. William Throop. Requisition was made upon the 
president for a pair of brass field pieces lying at Fort Wolcott and not 
then in use, but the requisition was not honored. During the war 
alarms were frequent, caused by reports of British ships being seen 
off the coast, and the militia of the State was distributed along the 
seaboard to oppose the landing of any force of the enemy. The 
records of the time give little information relative to the details of 



512 State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. 

service performed by the militia.^ From such as are to be found, 
however, it appears that in August, 1814, the companies of Capt. John 
Burrington, Capt. Samuel Warren and Capt. George Sweet were sta- 
tioned at Brenton's Neck in Newport. Artillery companies were sta- 
tioned at Little Compton, Tiverton near Stone Bridge, Warren, East 
Greenwich and at Barber's Heights, North Kingstown. In September 
six field carriages for heavy cannon were received from the general 
government and were at once put in service. At this time the fortifi- 
cations, which had been in process of construction since the beginning 
of hostilities, were completed, armed and equipped, and General Swift, 
of the United States army, was ordered to Rhode Island to ascertain 
their condition and utility. In company Avith Governor Jones he 
made a tour of the seaboard and they personally inspected all the 
works. 

The old forts and earthworks which had been thrown up during 
the Revolutionary struggle were again the scenes of warlike move- 
ments. 

Newport harbor was at the beginning of the war protected by Fort 
Adams, which had only been built a few years and was fully equipped 
with heavy guns and ordnance stores. Other smaller works were 
located within the harbor. At Providence, however, no substantial 
works were located, and should the enemy's ships succeed in passing 
the forts at Newport and the batteries along the shore, the town was 
liable to destruction. 

Spooner Ruggies, William Farrier, John Brown, James M. Sabin, 
Joshua A. Sabin and Samuel Y. Seamans were appointed river guard 
and assigned to duty on board the guard brig Mary, a vessel hired for 
the purpose and belonging to Young Seamans of Providence. This 
guard ship was stationed in the river between Field's Point and Kettle 
Point. The rules for the conduct of the "river watch" required that 
the watchmen spend the night in a small boat, cruising between the 
guard ship and Sabin 's Point and across the river, directing their 
courses in such manner as to examine each shore. "Three men were 
to go in a boat", and three remain on board the brig, beginning at or 
before nine o 'clock each night. In the event the guard should discover 
any hostile force or suspicious movements, they were to immediately 
repair on board the guard ship, and if in the opinion of the commander 
the occasion warranted it, to fire the carriage gun and as soon as 
possible light the beacon.- The guard, however, were impressed with 
the importance of observing great caution in spreading an alarm. 

'A volume is now in preparation, to be issued under the patronage of the 
State, containing the list of all officers from Rhode Island who served during 
the war, the title of which will be "Military and Civil Lists of Rhode Island, 
1800-1850." 

■^No record has been found of the location of the beacon; it may have been 
on the hill where the beacon was erected during the war of the Revolution. 



The Wars and the Militia. 513 

Between July 28, 1813, and July 24, 1814, five cartel ships arrived 
in the harbor of Providence, bringing to the toAvn 1,066 prisoners, 
mostly Americans, and many of them sick and wounded. Thomas 
Cole, collector of the port, under the direction of the commissary- 
general of prisoners, made provision for their support until they 
were in condition to again enter the service, as many of them did, or 
until they could engage in other occupations. Such English prisoners 
as were brought in, however, were sent on board a prison ship anchored 
between Fox Point and Field's Point. As many of these prisoners 
were brought from the West Indies, Barbadoes and Jamaica, the rules 
for quarantine were rigorously enforced and precaiition taken against 
the introduction of an infectious disease. 

In July, 1814, a committee, consisting of James B. Mason, John 
Carlisle and William Blodgett, was appointed to fortify Field's Point. 
At this locality were two forts, built during the Revolutionary 
struggle, one on the high hill at the point, another on Robin Hill 
nearer the shore ; these were repaired and guns mounted therein. In 
addition to these works, this committee laid out and built on the end of 
the point, just above tide water, a substantial work, which they 
designated Fort William Henry.' It is well preserved at this date. 
In addition to this work others were thrown up at Kettle Point, 
directly opposite Fort William Henry, which were built jointly by the 
people of Seekonk and Providence. On the heights on the Lyon's 
shore was an old work, thrown up during the Revolution. This was 
repaired and put in order for use; it is to-day fairly well defined and 
is located on what is called Fort Hill in East Providence. 

A line of breastwork was thrown up near the hospital and another 
on the Cranston road; besides these, other works were built at Fox 
Point, one on the Pawtuxet road near what is now Trinity square, and 
another near what is now the junction of Broadway and Federal 
streets. All these means of defending the town against the enemy 
were laid out and constructed under the direction of a "Committee 
of Defense", composed of citizens of the town. This committee met 
almost daily from September 19, 1814, to January 16, 1815, in the 
south chamber of the Washington Insurance Co. building. 

The following memorandum will show as clearly as could be ascer- 
tained at the time the amount of labor expended in constructing 
fortifications in the vicinity of Providence, in September and October, 
1814, as collected by the late Zachariah Allen, who was secretary of 
this committee : 

'For a detailed account of the expense attending the construction of the 
fort see the "Accounts of the Committee for fortifying Field's Point, 1814' , 
in the custody of the Record Commissioners of Providence. 
33-1 



514 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 





Days of labor 


United Train of Artillery performed about 


145 


Greene Association 


55 


Marine Artillery 


120 


Volunteer Company 


78 


Cadets 


140 


Students of Brown University 


120 


Gentlemen of the Bar 


28 


Freemasons 


200 


Free people of color 


96 


Inhabitants of Seekonk 


150 


" Glocester 


120 


" Scituate 


165 


" Smithfield 


70 


'* " Johnston 


190 


" " BurriUville 


60 


" " Foster & North Providence 


100 


'■ " Cumberland & Mendon 


90 


" ■' Cumberland Company of horse 


33 


'' " Providence 


980 


Various other volunteers 


160 



Total 3,100 days 

In order to impede the progress of the enemy's ships, should they 
attempt to come up the river, a line of hulks was anchored off Paw- 
tuxet, ready to be sunk at a moment's warning and block the channel 
A line of communication was established between the South Ferry 
and Point Judith, to give notice throughout the State if any hostile 
movements of the enemy should be discovered. Thus was the State 
protected during those days of darkness and doubt ; happily, however, 
the enemy did not enter these waters. All danger of such an invasion 
had ceased some time before the news of peace had been received. 
This welcome news reached Rhode Island on the 12th of February, 
1815. In Providence the bells in the churches were rung and the 
artillery tired salutes of victory. The weather was fearfully cold, yet 
the next day, one who remembered the occasion well has said : ' ' The 
streets of the town were thronged with people, hand shaking and 
rejoicing, and in the evening the whole town was illuminated to cele- 
brate the end of war and the return of peace". 

For a period of thirty years the militia of the State was not engaged 
in more hazardous duties than those imposed by the General Muster. 
This was the great fete day of the year; it brought together a large 
concourse of people and was an occasion of patriotism, ginger bread, 
and Medford rum. Preparations for muster began some time before 
the date fixed for the event. The great field for the muster was 
selected by the regimental officers Avith great care; special attention 



The Wars and the Militia. 515 

was paid to its size and condition, for it must be smooth level crrass 
land, and within reasonable distance of a good place for a'rendezvous 
usually a good tavern. In some of the towns regular training fields 
were used year after year. The troops were usually required to be in 
line by seven o'clock in the morning, and the men were warned to 
appear by five or six o'clock, so that company organizations might be 
made and breakfast eaten in season for regimental formation The 
muster field was lined with little booths and stands where various 
articles, ginger bread, small beer, and some larger liquids were dis- 
posed of to the crowd always attending the muster. 

These peaceful and spectacular exercises of the militia were some- 
what interfered with in 1842, when what has generally been caUed the 
Dorr War upset the internal affairs of the State. The State's military 

TO THE CITIZENS 

OF FROVIDEWCEI!! 

You are reaested FORTHWITH 
to repair to the 

and TAKE ARMS. 

SAiYIUEL. W. KliVG. 

Governor ut tlit State of Rhode Island. 
froridmee. May 17 •S4*, C oclocb P. M. 

Proclamation Issued during the "Dorr War." 

The Providence Journal on the 18th of May, 1842, says : "Every man should arm him- 
self and hold himself in readiness to obey the orders of the Governor. Governor King last 
night issued a proclamation calling upon all his friends to arm themselves at once. They 
accordingly did so." This was issued the day the attack was made on the Arsenal. 

From the original in the possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 

force played its part in this affair, but in the same way that such a 
force would act if called upon by the governor to quell a riot. The 
Dorr War, or by whatever name this episode may be called, belongs 
to the political history of the State rather than the military, and is 
therefore not included in this chapter.^ 

No State responded more promptly to the call to arms in 1861 than 
did Rhode Island. President Lincoln's proclamation on April 15 for 
75,000 volunteers for three months' service was received with demon- 
strations of the wildest patriotic enthusiasm. 

'For a full account of this constitutional strugg:le and the part taken by the 
military force of the two parties consult "The Dorr War" by Arthur May 
Mowry, Providence, 1901. 



516 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

A regiment of infantry was at once organized, twenty-five hundred 
men volunteering, fifteen hundred more than was necessary or re- 
quired; these men came from all over the State and from all stations 
in its social and business life. 

It was only with the greatest difficulty that the selections were made 
for representation among the towns for the companies of which this 
regiment was to be formed, so great was the desire of the citizens of 
the State to be numbered in its ranks. It was finally made up of six 
companies from Providence, one from Newport, one from Pawtucket, 
one from Westerly and one from Woonsocket. 

Ambrose E. Burnside, then treasurer of the Illinois Central Rail- 
road, was hastily summoned from New York, where he then had an 
office, and placed in command of the regiment. 

Within five days after the call for volunteers, the first half of the 
regiment, under the command of Colonel Burnside, left Providence for 
Washington ( April 20 ) , and four days later the second half, under Lieut.- 
Col. Joseph S. Pitman, proceeded thither. A battery of artillery was 
also organized by Capt. Charles H. Tompkins, and under his com- 
mand left Providence on the 18th of April, and after spending 
some days at Easton, Penn., in drill, arrived in Washington May 2, the 
first volunteer battery that entered the service. 

The question of money for the support of the militia, called into 
service at various times when war had been declared, was one that had 
required most careful consideration by the Legislature of the Colony 
and State from the earliest days of its settlement. In every other 
such emergency timely Avarning had been given and money was freely 
provided, but with the outbreak of the Rebellion and this call for 
troops the Legislature was not in session, nor was there time to call 
a special session to authorize the great expenditure of money which 
the emergency required. At this crisis Governor Sprague, for himself 
and the firm of A. & W. Sprague, guaranteed that the expense incurred 
should be paid, and thus enabled the troops from Rhode Island to more 
speedily get to the front. 

Meanwhile the situation had reached a point where it was plainly 
apparent that a greater force was needed, and that enlistments for a 
short period were useless; and when President Lincoln issued his 
second proclamation for more troops, enlistments were for three years 
or the war. On the 18th of June Governor Sprague issued an order 
for the organization of a second regiment of infantry and a battery of 
artillery, and a camp for the purpose of organization was established 
on the Dexter Training Ground. Maj. John S. Slocum, of the First 
Regiment, was appointed colonel, and William Goddard, then a colonel 
on the governor's staff, was appointed temporary lieutenant-colonel. 

Colonel Goddard soon after was assigned to other duties and his 
place was taken by Charles T. Robbins, also acting temporary lieuten- 



The Wars and the Militia. 517 

ant-colonel. On June 19 the regiment struck their tents and marched 
to Exchange Place, where appropriate exercises were held, and then 
resumed the march to Fox Point, where it embarked on the steamer 
State of Maine. The regiment arrived in Washington on the 22d, 
accompanied by Governor Spragiie, John R. Bartlett, secretary of 
state, and Bishop Clark. This regiment had a most honorable record 
and was engaged in nearly all the great battles of the war, participat- 
ing in the battles of First Bull Run, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Malvern 
Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Marye's Heights, Salem Heights, 
Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold 
Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Stevens, Opequan, Hatcher's Run, Sailor's 
Creek, and the surrender at Appomattox. It was mustered out of 
service May 24, 1865, and arrived in Providence the 17th of July 
following. 

The first regiment which was enlisted for three months participated 
in the first battle of Bull Run. With the regiment at this time was 
Governor Sprague, who had a horse shot under him during the battle. 
This regiment, having completed its term of service, arrived in Provi- 
dence Sunday morning, July 28, and was mustered out August 2 
following. The First Light Battery, R. I. Volunteers, completed its 
term of service at the same time and arrived in Providence July 31. 
In August another regiment of infantry was organized, the third. 
During its formation it was located at Camp Ames, on the Spring 
Green farm, Warwick. Early in September it left Providence for 
Fort Hamilton on Long Island. 

Special orders No. 333, dated December 19, 1861, from the Adjutant 
General's Office at Washington, changed the name of the regiment offi- 
cially to that of the Third Regiment Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, 
and authorized it to be recruited to twelve companies of one hundred 
and fifty men each. It was the largest military organization up to 
that time ever sent into the field by the State of Rhode Island, and its 
term of service was a few days over four years. As evidence of the 
service which this regiment performed the names of the following 
sieges and battles were authorized to be inscribed upon the regimental 
colors: Fort Pulaski, Secessionville, Pocotaligo, Morris Island, Fort 
Sumter, Fort Wagner, Olustee, Drury's Bluff, Laurel Hill, Honey 
Hill, Deveaux Neck, Fort Burnham and Petersburg. Nathaniel AV. 
Brown was its first colonel. 

In September the Fourth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers was 
organized by Col. Justus I. McCarty, U. S. A. This regiment was 
stationed near Apponaug at Camp Greene, so named in honor of Gen. 
Nathanael Greene. On the 5th of October the regiment broke camp 
and left for Washington. Soon after arriving Col. Isaac P. Rodman 
was appointed to its command, the commission of Colonel McCarty 
being revoked. The regiment participated in the battles of Roanoke 



518 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Island, Newbern, Fort Macon, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericks- 
burg, Suffolk, Weldon Railroad, Poplar Spring Church and Hatcher's 
Run. 

It arrived in Providence, after more than three years of active 
service in the field, on October 7, 1864, and was mustered out of service 
on the 15th. 

Meanwhile a regiment known as the First Regiment Rhode Island 
Light Artillery was in process of formation ; it consisted of the follow- 
ing batteries : Battery A, mustered in June 6, Capt. Wm. H. Rey- 
nolds ; Battery B, mustered in August 13, Capt. Thomas F. Vaughn ; 
Battery C, mustered in August 25, Capt. William B. Weeden ; Battery 
D, mustered in September 4, Capt. John A. Monroe ; Battery E, 
mustered in September 30, Capt. George E. Randolph; Battery F, 
mustered in October 29, Capt. James Belger; Battery G, mustered 
in December 21, Capt. Charles D. Owen ; Battery H, mustered in 
October 14, 1862, Capt. Jeffrey Hazard ; this completed the regimental 
organization. Charles H. Tompkins was the colonel. 

One of the guns which belonged to Battery B of this regiment is the 
famous Gettysburg gun, now mounted in front of the old State house 
in Providence. No adequate account of the services performed by 
this regiment can be given in an account relating to the regiment itself, 
for the batteries never served in a regimental formation, but as de- 
tached bodies, and their services extended over nearly the entire field 
of action during the war. In June, 1865, the batteries forming the 
regiment were mustered out of service. 

The Fifth Rhode Island Volunteers was organized at Camp Green 
in October, 1861, from which it was transferred to Camp Slocum on 
the Dexter Training Ground in Providence. It was enlisted as a bat- 
talion with the intention of making it a full regiment. On the 27th of 
December, five companies then being filled, the battalion departed for 
Annapolis to join the expedition to North Carolina. It was com- 
manded by Maj. John G. Wright. Upon attaining the proportions of 
a regiment, Henry T. Sisson was appointed colonel. On May 27, 
1863, by order of the secretary of war, the name of the regiment was 
changed to the Fifth Rhode Island Heavy Artillery. During its 
service the regiment participated in the following engagements : 
Roanoke Island, New Berne, Siege of Fort Macon, Rawle's Mill, first 
attack on New Berne, Kingston, Whitehall, Goldsboro, siege of Little 
Washington, and the second rebel attack on New Berne. On June 26, 
1865, the regiment was mustered out of service at New Berne. 

In the fall of 1861 a cavalry regiment was organized as the First 
Rhode Island Cavalry Regiment. Col. Robert B. Lawton, a veteran 
of the Mexican war and who had also seen service in the Seminole war 
in Florida, was placed in command. This regiment was composed of 
two battalions recruited in Rhode Island and one battalion from New 



The Wars and the Militia. 519 

Hampshire. The winter of 1861-2 was passed in camp at Pawtucket, 
and in March, 1862, it proceeded to Washington. This regiment saw 
hard service and was mustered out in Baltimore August 3, 1865.^ 

In the summer of 1862 more troops were called for and steps were 
at once taken to send another regiment into the field. 

In August an attempt was made in Rhode Island to raise a regiment 
of colored troops, the first step taken towards this end in any Northern 
State, but for various reasons the project failed, the bane of military 
affairs, jealousy, being the main cause of the failure. This regiment 
was to be known as the Sixth Rhode Island Volunteers. 

On the 22d of May, 1862, a general order was issued for the organi- 
zation of the Seventh Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers, to serve 
during the war. A camp was established in South Providence, named 
Camp Bliss, for drill and organization. 

Here the regiment remained until Sept. 10, when it proceeded to 
Washington under the command of Col. Zenas R. Bliss. By general 
orders the names of the following battles in Avhich the regiment had 
borne a meritorious part were directed to be inscribed on its colors: 
Fredericksburg, Siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, Spottsylvania, North 
Anna, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, Poplar Spring 
Church, Hatcher's Run. The regiment was mustered out of service at 
Alexandria, Va., on June 9, 1865. 

The Eighth Regiment was planned of volunteers for three months, 
but the Ninth and Tenth regiments, both for that period of service, 
having been dispatched before its organization, it was considered that 
no more short term regiments were needed, and further steps towards 
its organization were abandoned. 

A threatened attack upon the National Capital in May, 1862, caused 
much uneasiness, and a call was made for volunteers for three months ' 
service for the defense of AVashington. Within four days from the 
time the call for Rhode Island's quota was received the Ninth Regi- 
ment Rhode Island Volunteers was on the way to the defense of the 
capital, leaving Providence on the afternoon of May 27, under the 
command of Col. Charles T. Robbins. Subsequently John T. Pitman 
was appointed to its command. The service of the regiment 
was confined to garrison duty, and at the expiration of its term of 
enlistment it returned to Providence, arriving on the 31st of August, 
and a few days later it was mustered out of service. Though the 
names of no hard fought battles were ordered emblazoned on its colors, 
yet its service was an honorable one and history will give the regiment 
a deserved place in the reserved power of the nation. 

The Tenth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers was organized at the 
same time and for the same purpose that the Ninth Regiment was. It 
Tor a detailed account of the history of the various regiments see bibli- 
ography at the end of this work. 



520 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

left Providence on the 27th of May, under command of Col. Zenas R. 
Bliss, and arrived in Washington on the 29th. During its term of 
enlistment the regiment performed good service in garrisoning the 
various forts which defended the western approach to the capital. 
On the 25th of August, its term of enlistment having expired, the 
regiment started for Providence, where it arrived on the 28th and 
was mustered out of service on September 1. Certainly no regiment 
ever left the State more promptly in response to the governor's call, 
and no regiment hastened to the rescue of the capital under a more 
solemn sense of duty. Among the soldiers in the regiment were many 
of the boys of the Providence High School and students of Brown 
University. 

With the Ninth and Tenth regiments went the Tenth Light Bat- 
tery Rhode Island Volunteers, or, as it was sometimes known, Com- 
pany L, Fourth Regiment Rhode Island Infantry. This battery was 
recruited from the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery. On the 
29tli of May a detachment of ninety men and three officers proceeded 
to Washington, and on June 6 another detachment of forty men, 
followed on the 9th by twenty-five men. The battery was commanded 
by Capt. Edwin C. Gallup. Though not sent to the front to engage 
in deadly conflict, it formed an important arm of the defense of Wash- 
ington at a time when it became necessary to withdraw more experi- 
enced troops from the fortifications around the city to reinforce the 
Army of the Potomac on the Peninsula. The battery was mustered 
out of service August 30, 1862. 

Experience had shown now, if not before, that enlistments for three 
months were altogether too short terms, even for emergency troops, 
and when in the summer of 1862 the advance of the enemy across the 
Potomac and additional troops were called into the field, the term of 
enlistment was made for nine months. It was for this term of service 
that the Eleventh and Twelfth Regiments were recruited. The call 
for 300,000 troops for nine months' service was made on August 4, 
1862. On the 23d of September the ranks of the Eleventh Regiment 
were filled, and on October 1st the regiment was mustered into service. 
Col. Edwin Metcalf, who had already seen active service, was ap- 
pointed to the command of the regiment. On the sixth of October the 
regiment broke camp and departed for Washington, where it arrived 
on the 8th. The regiment saw little active service in the field, it 
being assigned to special guard duty and work on fortifications. Upon 
completing its term of service it was ordered home, and arrived in 
Providence July 6 and on the 13th the regiment was mustered out. 
The Twelfth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers was mustered into 
service on October 13, under the command of Col. George H. Browne. 
The regiment participated in the battle of Fredericksburg, where it 
met with a severe loss of killed and wounded. During its months of 



The Wars and the Militia. 521 

service it was almost continually on the march, and from this fact 
earned the title of the "Trotting Twelfth", having travelled 3,500 
miles, 500 of which were on foot. The regiment returned to Provi- 
dence on July 22 and on the 29th was mustered out of service. 

On the 31st of August, 18G2, the War Department issued an order 
for raising the first battalion Second Rhode Island Cavalry, to be 
under the command of Maj. Augustus W. Corliss. On the 15th an- 
other order was issued to make it a full regiment of three battalions. 

The first battalion was enlisted December 24, 18(52, and the second 
January 19, 1863. The two battalions were ordered to Louisiana, whei'e 
they arrived in time to take part in the advance on Port Hudson, 
March 14, 1863. The losses which this regiment sustained in the hard 
service it saw so reduced its ranks that in August, 1863, it Avas con- 
solidated into one battalion of four companies and united with the 
First Louisiana Cavalry. This union produced discontent and de- 
moralization, and many of the officers resigned and were honorably 
discharged. Soon after this union the troops openly rebelled against 
the brutal acts of Lieut.-Colonel Robinson of the Louisiana Cavalry, 
and discontent and disorder followed. The identity of the regiment 
seemed lost, and Governor Smith warmly protested against the whole 
action, claiming if the regiment was to be broken up that it should be 
transferred to the Third Rhode Island Cavalry. The War Depart- 
ment subsequently repaired the injury, as far as possible, by issuing 
an order on January 14, 1864, for this purpose. 

In November, 1862, there was organized in Providence a company 
of Hospital Guards, the command of which was placed with Capt. 
Christopher Blandiug, formerly lieutenant-colonel of the Third Rhode 
Island Heavy Artillery. This company was recruited by order of the 
War Department to serve as a guard at the Marine Hospital in Provi- 
dence, where many wounded soldiers were being nursed, and at Ports- 
mouth Grove, where the general government had established a hospital 
on a large scale, designated the Lovell General Hospital. At the 
latter place large numbers of both Union and Confederate soldiers 
were cared for during the war, and a substantial garrison force was 
necessary for the proper conduct of this station. Captain Blanding 
recruited his company from such men as had already seen service and 
had been disabled, yet were fit for light garrison duty. The company 
was mustered into service on the 6th of December, 1862, and it was 
not until August 25, 1865, that the hospital closed and the men were 
mustered out. 

On the 17th of June, 1863, Governor Smith received authority from 
the War Department to enlist a colored company of heavy artillery ; 
with such success was the company enlisted that by the 3d of Septem- 
ber authoritv had been given to organize a full regiment. Then came 
into being what was known at first as the Fourteenth Regiment Rhode 



522 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Island Heavy Artillery, colored. A recruiting camp was established 
on the Dexter Training Ground, but as the companies were organized 
they were transferred to Dutch Island, in the southern portion of 
Narragansett Bay, where a camp, designated as Camp Bailey, named 
in honor of Col. Charles E. Bailey, had been prepared. Lieut.-Col. 
Nelson Viall, a veteran of the jNIexican War and who had already seen 
active service with the Army of the Potomac, was appointed to the 
command of this new regiment. All the officers were white. By the 
19th of December one battalion was ready for duty at the front, and 
on this day it left Providence, followed on the 8th of January, 1864, 
by the second battalion. It was not until the 3d of April that the 
third battalion left Rhode Island, for, in February, small-pox broke 
out among the troops and it was necessary to delay sailing. The regi- 
ment was eventually assigned to the Department of the Gulf, and its 
name changed to the Eleventh United States Heavy Artillery (col- 
ored). During its period of service the regiment performed most 
eifectually all the duties assigned to it, which were laborious and often 
disagreeable. It had a record for excellent discipline and proficiency 
in drill, and was often complimented for the spirit in which it entered 
upon any duty assigned to it to perform. The regiment was mustered 
out of service October 2, 1865, but it was not until late in the month 
that it was disbanded. 

The organization of the Third Regiment Rhode Island Cavalry was 
commenced July 1, 1863, by Col. Willard Sayles, who was appointed 
to its command by the governor under authority of the secretary of 
war. With the large body of troops that a State the size of Rhode 
Island had already placed in the field, recruits for this regiment neces- 
sarily came slowly, and it was not until the 31st of December that the 
first battalion left the State for active service at the front. Early in 
February the two companies of the Second Cavalry, which had been 
assigned to the First Louisiana Cavalry, were assigned to the Third. 
On April 25 three more companies joined the regiment at Alexandria, 
and another detachment of two companies joined the main body in 
the fi€ld May 8. It took part in the Red River Expedition, the battle 
of Pleasant Hill, the skirmishes at Alexandria and Governor Moore's 
plantation, the battle of Marksville Plain and Yellow Bayou. It 
also performed extended terms of patrol duty and participated in 
frequent expeditions after guerrillas. The regiment was mustered out 
of service at New Orleans, November 29, 1865. One more body of 
volunteer troops completes the list of Rhode Island's contribution to 
the Union army. In June, 1862, Company A of the Seventh Squadron 
Rhode Island Cavalry was enlisted in Providence. This squadron 
was under the command of Major Augustus A¥. Corliss, and was en- 
listed for three months' service. It was mustered into service June 
24th and on the 28th left Providence for Washington. After serving 



' 



The Wars and the Militia. 533 

on picket duty and scouting, its term of service expired and on Septem- 
ber 26 it returned to Providence. 

During the period of the war Rhode Island contributed 23,699 men 
On the call of April 1.5, 1861, 3.147 men responded; on the call of 
May 3, 1861, 6,286 men ; on the call of July 2, 1862, 2,742 men ; on the 
call of August 4, 1862, 2,059 men ; on the call of October 17, 1863, and 
February 1, 1864, 3,686 men ; the call of March 14, 1864, 1,906 men ; 
the call of July 18, 1864, 2,310 men ; and the call of December 19, 1864, 
1,563 men. With the same good order and evidence of good citizen- 
ship with which these volunteers sprang to the aid of the Nation when 
rebellion seemed likely to disrupt the Union, so when peace spread her 
mantle over the contending forces and war and rumors of war were no 
longer heard in the land, then those men who had survived the perils 
of the camp, the march and the battlefield, as orderly and with the 
same evidence of good citizenship, took up again their trades and pro- 
fessions and entered again upon the life and action of a nation at 
peace. 

The closing years of the century were darkened by the clouds of 
war. During the period preceding the call of President McKinley 
for volunteers, when the situation was of such a character that hos- 
tilities seemed imminent, Governor Dyer had caused a thorough inves- 
tigation of the condition of the State militia and the military stores in 
the possession of the State, and when, on the 23d day of April, 1898, 
the proclamation of the president was sent throughout the country 
calling for 200,000 volunteers for two years, or the war, no State was 
better prepared to respond to the call than Rhode Island.^ 

Recruiting offices were established in various parts of the State and 
recruits promptly responded. As fast as the men were enlisted they 
were assembled in squads and sent to the State Camp Grounds at 
Quonset Point, which was designated as Camp Dyer. Col. Henry B. 
Rose (retired) was placed in connnand of the rendezvous. 

Although the quota assigned to Rhode Island was much smaller 
than the number required for a regiment, the War Department au- 
thorized the enlistment in Rhode Island of one regiment of infantry. 

Lieut. Charles W. Abbot, Jr.. 12th U. S. Infantry, and a former 
member of the Rhode Island militia, who had been on duty in Rhode 
Island since 1896 as United States army inspector and who was thor- 
oughly familiar with the whole system of the Rhode Island militia, was 
appointed colonel of the regiment. On the 18th of May the regiment 
was nuistered into service, and eight days later it left the State com- 
pletely armed and equipped for active service. Its departure from 

'For a complete account of "Rhode Island in the War with Spain," see the 
volume under this title compiled from the official records of the executive 
department of the State by Elisha Dyer, governor, Providence, 1900, also 
military reports for 1898, 1899, 1900. 



534 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the State was made the occasion of a grand demonstration. A few 
days before its departure Gen. William Ames, a veteran of the Civil 
War, presented the regiment an elegant stand of colors. The regi- 
ment remained at various camps during the period of hostilities, con- 
stituting a portion of the reserve force of the country, and while it 
performed arduous service in camp and on the march, it was not privi- 
leged to add to its honorable record, service on the battlefield. On the 
30th of March, 1899, the regiment was mustered out of the service at 
Camp Fornance, Columbia, South Carolina; the regiment, however, 
did not at once disband, but by voluntary agreement of nearly one 
thousand officers and men, proceeded to Providence. The reception of 
the regiment at Providence was attended with all the enthusiasm that 
had prevailed when it left the State. Crowds of people thronged the 
streets and the formal dismissal of the regiment on Dexter Training 
Ground, on April 1, 1899, was witnessed by a large concourse of 
people. 

Under the second call for troops Rhode Island, besides furnishing 
sufficient men to recruit the regiment of infantry to its maximum 
standard, recruited two batteries of light artillery, both of which were 
formed from the two batteries of the State militia. Battery A was 
commanded by Capt. Edgar R. Baker and Battery B by Capt. Henry 
Wolcott. These batteries were mustered in June 28, 1898, and were 
located at the camp ground at Quonset Point during their entire period 
of service, which lasted only a few months. 

During the period of the war the patriotism of the people of Rhode 
Island was manifested on every hand ; the national flag was displayed 
on the public buildings, places of business and the homes of the people. 
Portraits of the leaders in the war hung in the windows of the shop- 
keepers and householders, and public and private funds were gener- 
ously used to relieve the sick and the wounded.^ 

Of all the military organizations chartered by the General Assembly 
in those early days, when it would seem the bulk of the male population 
of the State must have been under arms, and in uniform in one fan- 
tastic shape or another, the days when now sparsely populated parts 
like Exeter or Scituate could send a regiment to the front under a 
resounding military title, and it was a real or prospective foe of the 
nation that was likely to be faced instead of a mob of their own feUow 
citizens in the streets of a big city, there are to-day only five left 
outside the brigade of militia, that maintain an organization under 
their charters, while their active membership is also identified with and 
enlisted in the brigade. 

The Newport Artillery, ever one of the best military organizations 

'See "The Work of the Rhode Island Sanitary and Relief Association Dur- 
ing the War Between the United States and Spain," in "Rhode Island in the 
War with Spain". Dyer, 1900, p. 335. 



526 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

either within or without the line, the United Train of Artillery of 
Providence, the Bristol Train of Artillery, The Kentish Guards of 
East Greenwich and the Warren Artillery of Warren, still maintain 
a military organization outside the brigade. The Providence Marine 
Corps of Artillery annually elects its officers, and keeps up a social 
organization under its charter, although it accepted the provisions of 
the militia laws, and is represented actively as the State's battery and 
artillery. The First Light Infantry Regiment still maintains its mili- 
tary character and its distinctive uniform, as in the days before it 
became attached to the line. 

"The glorious and frequently gorgeous commands, whose bright train- 
ing-day uniforms once flecked the surface of the State like bunches of 
peonies and patches of tulips and bouquets of rainbow tints generally, 
have, however, mostly vanished and gone. Many of them expired 
without creating any commotion, under the provision usual with the 
charters that when they fell to less than forty men they should become 
extinct. Many struggled along through the first half of the last 
century, with frequent revivals of their charters, due to failure to 
maintain the provisions from year to year. The Civil War played 
havoc with a good many of them, as the Spanish War threatened to 
do even to the well-organized militia of the present day and the gen- 
eral reorganization of the State militia force following the Rebellion 
hastened the end of some. It is unnecessary and could have only a 
pathetic interest to trace the rise, downfall and passing of such gallant 
companies as the Bristol Light Dragoons, or the Coventry Rangers, or 
the Kentish Troop, or the Pawtuxet Rangers, or the Nooseneck Guards, 
or the Little Compton Artillery, or the Tiverton Independence Light 
Dragoons. Like the Burrillville and Glocester Horse Company, the 
Cumberland Artillery, the Manville Light Infantry, the Foster Safe 
Guards, the North Providence Rangers, the Sea Fencibles, the Paw- J 
tuxet Artillery, the Smithfield Grenadiers, the Kingston Reds, and ^ 
many other splendid organizations, ever ready and eager for defense 
of home or duty abroad, they are all gone, and for the history of many 
of them it would be impossible to gather the material for the last 
chapter. Doubtless they all served their State and wore their uni- 
forms well. Of most of them history can only record with safety that 
they were— and now are not." About the year 1831 the militia of the 
State became demoralized and disorganized. The adjutant's record 
book of the Second Regiment of Rhode Island militia from 1825-1832 
contains this statement : 

"After the year 1831 the field officers all declined a re-election in 
consequence of the disorganized condition of the militia of Rhode 
Island. No competent commanding Regimental officers could be in- 
duced to serve. There were first rate officers in the volunteer com- 
panies attached to the Regiment, viz.. The First Light Infantry and 



I 



The Wars and the Militia. 527 

*1^ ^T.^*^ ^'t po^'P^','^^^^ ^ot one of said officers would accept the 
office of Col. Perhaps there were some officers in the ward companies 
fully competent to command, but the difficulty was in the disorganiza- 
tion of the Standing Companies of the militia as they Avere ''called 
The General Assembly of Rhode Island continued the appointment of 
the old Field officers, they having the right of appointment, but it 
will be seen by the record they positively declined serving".^ 

In addition to the chartered companies, provision was made by a law 
of 1842 for volunteer companies, so designated, which act of the Assem- 
bly was perhaps the precursor of our later militia laws. Further 
development along this line resulted in a law of 1864, providing for 
volunteer companies outside the chartered companies and their or- 
ganization by tens into regiments, or, if not conveniently situated to 
get together as regiments, into battalions. 

The reorganization of the militia of the State, which began by slow 
stages a few years after the close of the Civil War, culminated in the 
provisions of the militia laAV in 1875, under which the militia forces, 
including such chartered companies as accepted the provision of the 
new law, by brigades, battalions and companies, in which nomenclature 
the more distinctive, not to say more fanciful, names of the chartered 
and volunteer organizations w^iich made up the line were subordinated, 
though not yet entirely eliminated. Before the reorganization under 
the law of 1875, the militia, variously uniformed, bearing the burden 
of their own expenses, and, whether chartered or volunteer companies, 
being pretty much independent, were loosely organized as a division 
of three brigades, the brigades being also loosely established according 
to the location of the different groups, and regardless of the respective 
arms of the service, the companies in the counties of Newport and 
Bristol being in the first brigade, of Providence county in the second, 
and of Washington and Kent counties in the third. A major-general 
and three brigadiers constituted the line officers of general rank. 

The law of 1875 still retained the division organization, with a 
major-general commanding, but it reduced the number of commands, 
and from three brigades, representing miscellaneous arms, provided 
for two brigades of infantry, with the cavalry and artillery organized 
each by itself. 

In the work of reorganization culminating in the law of 1875 the 
greatest embarrassment was caused by the position of the chartered 
companies, by reason of the fact that, though there then existed only 
five of these commands, yet they numbered in the aggregate some 800 
men, were highly disciplined and generally among the most efficient 
of the companies of the militia under the existing law. To undertake 

^Statement of A. D. Hodges, adjutant Second Regiment, June, 1874, in 
record book of the Second Regiment, in possession of the Rhode Island His- 
torical Society. 



528 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

to frame a new law that would not meet with their approval, and so 
would result in driving them out of the active militia, was evidently 
a hazardous undertaking. Subject only to tlie order of the governor, 
with their powers guaranteed them in independence under their 
charters granted them in times long gone by, by the General Assembly, 
they were not unnaturally exceedingly loth to consent to attach them- 
selves to the line and forfeit their charter rights to provisions of new 
legislation calculated to limit their prestige and scope of action. 

The obstacle, however, was in a measure overcome. Doubtless the 
interests of the chartered companies were fully consulted in the fram- 
ing of the law, and appeal was made to their patriotism and public 
spirit to accept its provisions when it was adopted. Two of the char- 
tered companies promptly accepted the provisions, namely, the Provi- 
dence Marine Corps of Artillery and the First Light Infantry, these 
two organizations alone representing nearly 400 of the desirable 800 
men then composing the live chartered commands. 

The next radical change in the organization of the militia was 
promptly made after the successful trial of the provisions of the law 
of 1875. By the law of 1879, the two brigades of the line were re- 
duced to one, the numbers were again reduced by the disbandment of 
five companies, the major-general and one more brigadier of the line 
were lopped off, provision was made for a single State uniform to re- 
place the uniforms which still differed with the different commands, 
and enlistments were for a period of three years. The distinctive 
names of the organizations attached to the line and composing the 
brigade disappeared from the rolls forever. 

The organization of the militia as provided in the law of 1879 has 
in essentials undergone little change to this day, with the exceptioa 
that the battalions of infantry of the brigade have been consolidated 
into two regiments of eight companies, each with a separate company. 

At the present time the Brigade Rhode Island Militia consists of the 
following: The First Regiment of Infantry, headquarters at Provi- 
dence, Col. Frank W. Matteson. This regiment is made up of five 
companies from Providence and one company each from Pawtucket, 
Westerly and Woonsocket. 

The Second Regiment of Infantry, headquarters at Providence, Col. 
James H. McGann. The regiment consists of five companies from 
Providence, one of which is credited to Olneyville, and one company 
each from Woonsocket, Bristol, and Central Falls. The First Battalion 
of Cavalry, Major George S. Tingley, headquarters at Pawtucket, 
Troop A of Pawtucket and Troop B of Providence. First Separate 
Company of Infantry of Providence (colored), Capt. Robert W. 
Blunt. 

Battery A Light Artillery of Providence, Capt. Charles H. Weaver. 
First Machine Gun Battery of Providence, Capt. E. Merle Bixby. A 



The Wars and the Militia. 529 

hospital corps and signal corps. The brigade is commanded by 
Brigadier-General Hiram Kendall, who was commissioned April 8 
1892. 

There yet remains five of the Independent organizations. The New- 
port Artillery Company of Newport, Col. Herbert Bliss ; The United 
Train of Artillery of Providence, Col. Alvin H. Eccleston ; The Bristol 
Train of Artillery of Bristol, Col. John H. Bailey, Jr. ; The Kentish 
Guards^ of East Greenwich, Col. M^ill E. Brown : and the Warren Artil- 
lery of Warren. No return of the election of officers for the year 1900 
was made to the adjutant-general by this latter organization. In 
addition to the above there are two Naval Reserve Torpedo Companies, 
one from Bristol and one from Newport, and two Naval Artillery Com- 
panies, one from Providence and one from East Providence. 

Annual encampments of the brigade are usually held in the month 
of July at the State Camp Grounds at Quonset Point in the town of 
North Kingstown, which is well equipped in every respect for all mili- 
tary movements, even to the exercise of heavy guns. At the encamp- 
ment from July 9 to 14, 1900, the average attendance was 862.66 out 

'The Kentish Guards was incorporated just before the struggle for Ameri- 
can Independence began, and furnished more officers of importance for the 
Revolutionary Army than any other military organization in the Colonies. 
Among these were one major-general, one brigadier-general, two colonels, one 
major, one captain and a large number of other inferior officers. On the 
morning after the battle of Lexington the company set out for Boston with 
one hundred and ten rank and file; in the ranks was Nathanael Greene, carry- 
ing a musket. It proceeded, however, no farther than Pawtucket, news there 
being received that the British troops had returned to Boston and immediate 
danger had passed. The company perfoi-med good service during this strug- 
gle for independence in building and garrisoning Fort Daniel, erected at the 
head of East Greenwich Bay. During the Dorr insurrection the Guards were 
called upon for service to guard the bridge over the Blackstone River at Paw- 
tucket and performed well their part in crushing the riotous proceedings that 
took place at this point on June 27, 1842. 

The records of this ancient military company are imperfect, for fire years 
ago destroyed its armory and its records. No complete list is to be found of 
its officers and men, and but one roll of its members during the Revolutionary 
struggle is known by the writer to have been preserved; this is m the posses- 
sion of Mrs. H. F. Hunt, of Kingston, R. I., and is as follows; 

Pay Roll Kentish Guards, called out on alarm July 27, 1780: Richard Fry, 
Col • William Arnold, Charles Greene, Job Greene, Clarke Brown, Phillip 
Pearce, Nicholas Mathewson, Beniah Smith, Jonathan Salisbury, Andrew 
Boyd, Thomas Babcock, David Brayton, Caleb Gorton, Job Rice, Fones Greene, 
Stephen Green, son Job: William Blair, Green Capron, RK;hard Mathewson 
Earl Mowrey, Pasqui Austin, Daniel Pearce, John Fry, Elijah Johnson, James 
Sweet, Jonathan Fairbank, Holderly Langford, Mallachi Hammet, Robert 
Spencer, Caleb Hill, Blihu Greene, John Pearce. Gideon Willcox, Samuel 
Smith, Joseph Manchester, Israel Manchester, Noel P^ "er. Weavei Benmt 
William Greene, Gideon Spencer, Whipple Andrew Caleb Mathews Eli sha 
Dexter, Nathan Millard, jr., John Remington John Green. Ju°^.. Thomas 
Gould, Isaac Carr, Ezra Simmons, Wm. Burlingham Gideon Manchester, 
Stephen Brigs, Peleg Olin, Pardon Allen, Joseph Allen, Charles Allen. 
34-1 



530 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of a total of 1,038 enlisted men, while the average attendance of officers 
was 99 out of a total of 110. The militia of the State was seriously 
affected by the war with Spain, yet this tour of duty following so soon 
after was of such a character as to cause the United States army officer 
detailed to inspect the encampment to refer to it as "the best of the 
three that I have inspected ' '. 




The Sea Force 
In War Time. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
THE SEA FORCE IN WAR TIME.' 

The earliest mention in Rhode Island of a movement for fitting 
out vessels of war is in the year 1653, at which time Great Britain was 
at war with Holland. At the General Court of Trials, held at New- 
port in May of this year, privateers' commissions were given to Capt. 
John Underhill, William Dyre, and Edward Hull, with power "to goe 
against the Dutch, or any enemies of ye Commonwealth of England". 
In granting these commissions they had in view the affording aid to 
the English colonies on Long Island, as well as the taking of the vessels 
of the enemy. It was ordered that the force to be sent to Long Island 
"shall have two great guns and M-hat murtherers are with us on prom- 
ise of returning them at ye due valuation, and to be improved by in- 
structions given by this Assemblie 's authoritie ; provided they engage 
to the Commonwealth and conform by subscription to doe their utmost 
to set themselves against all the enemies of the Commonwealth of Eng- 
land, and to offend them as they shall be ordered ' '. 

For the trial of prizes brought in, the general officers, with three 
jurors, were to constitute the court. The towns of Providence and 
'War^\^ck were empowered to hold similar courts to those held at New- 
port, from either of which appeal was to be had to the General 
Assembly. 

The towns of Providence and Warwick did not entirely coincide 
with those of Newport and Portsmouth in issuing commissions to 
privateers to cruise against the Dutch, even though they had been 
granted "by virtue of a Commission from the Right Honorable the 
Council of State". At a meeting of commissioners from Providence 
and Warwick, held at the former place in the June following, a 
remonstrance was drawn up to be sent to the towns, chiefly against 
the commission granted to William Coddington, as governor of Rhode 

^A portion of the naval history here presented relating to the period previ- 
ous to the War of the Revolution was written by Hon. John R. Bartlett tor the 
Providence Daily Journal, in which it appeared more than thirty years ago 
and a few years later in the Magazine of American History. As any account 
of this portion of the State's history must include all that is contained inBart- 
letfs sketch and by reason of the inaccessibility of the original, it is intro- 
duced here practically as it then appeared. 



534 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Island, whereby the towns of Newport and Portsmouth "were dis- 
jointed from the Collonie of Providence Plantations". In this they 
say that their efforts to reunite Portsmouth and Newport with them 
have been in vain. "The inhabitants of the said two Towns, have, as 
we are informed, in the name or by the authoritie of the Collonie of 
Providence Plantations, granted and given unto John Underbill, 
Edward Hull, and William Dyre, commissions tending to War, which 
is like, for aught we see, to set all New England on fire, for the event 
of War is various and uncertaine ; and, although the honored Council 
of State's direction to us is to offend the Dutch as we shall think 
necessary, yet we know not for what reason, or for what cause the said 
inhabitants of the Island have given forth the said Commission. 
Therefore, we are enforced thus to declare, that if the said Island shall 
attempt to engage us with them in the said Commissions, or in any 
other like proceedings, and shall use any force or violence upon us on 
that account, that we will address ourselves immediately to England, 
to petition for their Honors' further directions unto us, which they 
have pleased to intimate in their Honors' pleasure, by the hand of 
William Dyre ; for we are resolved to use our utmost endeavor to free 
ourselves from all illegal and unjust proceedings". It was further 
ordered that those who owned the commissions before mentioned, 
granted in the name of Providence Plantations, shall have no liberty 
to act until they have given satisfaction to the towns of Providence 
and Warwick. Conceiving, too, that the Colony was in imminent 
danger, they adjourned until two commissioners should see cause to 
call the Court together. No injury seems to have arisen to the Colony 
from the warlike steps taken against the Dutch, as we find that, in the 
following year, vessels had been engaged in trading with them. 

In 1653 Samuel Mayo, mariner, of Barnstable, in Plymouth 
Colony, complained to the commissioners that his vessel, the Desire, 
had been unlawfully seized by Thomas Baxter, under order of a 
commission from Rhode Island. This vessel had been engaged in 
transporting the goods of William Leverich, of Sandwich, to Oyster 
Bay, on Long Island, within the English limits, where he was about to 
settle. She had also landed some cattle at Hempstead, on that island. 

The Commissioners of the United Colonies, in consequence of this 
complaint, sent Capt. William Hudson to the governor of Rhode 
Island, with orders to inquire by what commission their agents made 
such seizures, which disturbed the peace of the Colonies ; by whom it 
was granted, and whether it was under the seal of the Commonwealth 
of England. The agent was further directed to write down all the 
answers to these questions, that he "neither mistake or forget any 
part of it"; and also to ascertain to what extent, and by whom these 
commissions had been granted ; and in what relation Rhode Island 
stood with Providence and Warwick Plantations. 



The Sea Force in AVar Time. 535 

Great was the consternation of the reno-wTied Peter Stuyvesant, 
the governor of New Amsterdam, when news was brought him that ji 
vessel trading with that Colony had been seized by an impudent Eng- 
lish privateer from the neighboring Colony of Rhode Island. AVell 
was the term, "headstrong" applied by the truthful historian of New 
Amsterdam, Diedrich Knicijerbocker, to the worthy Dutch governor; 
for we learn that his ire was raised ; and, notwithstanding the dangers 
attending a voyage through the dreaded Hell Gate to reach Long 
Island Sound, he ordered two vessels to be at once fitted out with such 
warlike implements as the people were wont to use, and with one 
hundred and fifty men to seize the offending vessel, which then lay in 
the harbor of Fairfield. The Commissioners of the United Colonies, 
alarmed at this proceeding, issued an order that all Dutch ships be 
prohibited coming into any harbor belonging to any of the confederate 
Colonies, without a license from the governor or some magistrate of 
the Colony. Any vessel that entered an English colony after the 
issuing of this order, was to be notified by a magistrate or military 
officer to depart, failing in which within six hours, she was liable to 
be seized. The two Dutch vessels lying off' Fairfield were notified to 
depart within the same time, or be liable to seizure and confiscation. 

Governor Easton, in reply to the message sent him by the com- 
missioners through Lieutenant Hudson, to know by what authority the 
Colony of Rhode Island had granted commissions to privateers and 
raised such a turmoil among their quiet neighbors of New Amsterdam, 
sent the following letter : 

Newport, September 16, 1653. 

"Honored Gentlemen : — The Council not being present, nor with- 
out much diificulty could be, therefore, for myself, being desirous to be 
inoffensive to your honored authority, which I know is the mind of our 
Colony, induseth me to petition your Wisdoms for a favorable con- 
struction of our proceedings who are far from countenancing any in- 
civility, much less insolency, of any of ours; hoping that we sliall 
approve ourselves as to the supreme authority of the State of England, 
unto whom we are responsible ; so also unto your Wisdoms, in all ser- 
viceable humanity. 

"That, by our authority, received from the Right Honorable the 
Council of State, any offences, duly given, I presume not ; and hoping 
that your Wisdoms will not impute particular men's extravagancies to 
us, being ignorant thereof, but rather suspend ; and for sending a copy 
of our Commission, I have no Commission, and therefore desire to be 
excused. Yet this much I shall presume to inform your ingenuities 
that we are authorized to offend the enemies of the Commonwealth of 
England, as we shall see necessary; and against them only are our 
Commissions granted, and so is Baxter authorized ; and, as I remem- 
ber, for the Records are not with me, he is prohibited to pass into the 
Dutch jurisdiction till further orders be given. He is also bound to 



536 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

bring his prizes, so taken, into our harbor, for trial and that the State's 
part may be secured ; it being so joined on us by the supreme author- 
ity, unto whom we are also required to render an account of our pro- 
ceedings, which we have done, and unto whose right wise censure we 
submit. Thus presuming to trouble your Wisdoms with my rude 
lines, and desiring that your grave counsels may produce glory to 
God, grace among men, and honor to our illustrious mother State, this 
is the true desire of your servant, Nicholas Easton. 

"I shall readily acquaint our Council with your desires, the first 
opportunity. ' ' 

It is evident from this letter that Rhode Island had no authority 
or right, either by her charter or instructions, to issue commissions to 
privateers; indeed, the king and his ministers disavow all such right, 
as will shortly appear. 

Mr. Mayo, the owner of the vessel seized, accompanied Lieutenant 
Hudson to Rhode Island for the purpose of getting her release; but 
the authorities took no notice of his complaint. The commissioners, 
however, finding Mayo could obtain no redress from Rhode Island, 
ordered a stay of proceedings on his giving bonds to pay all damages, 
in case the vessel should, on trial, be adjudged a lawful prize under 
any commission issued by Providence Plantations by authority of the 
Commonwealth. 

In 1672 the breaking out of the war again between Great Britain 
and Holland aroused the American Colonies to renewed action. On 
the 30th of July, of the following year, the Dutch arrived with a 
large fleet and retook New York. Rhode Island became much alarmed 
at this success of their old enemy; and fearing that an attack on 
Newport would follow, immediately organized military companies and 
took such other precautionary measures as seemed necessary in the 
emergency; but there is no record of any naval exploits. The prob- 
ability is that the Dutch, having a considerable fleet, had complete 
command of the adjacent waters. 

At the May session of the General Assembly, held in Newport in 
1682, an act was passed establishing a Naval Office at Newport, in 
which all masters of vessels were "required, upon their arrival, to 
make entry of them and their loading ' ', and to give bond as required 
by act of Parliament. 

At the June session, 1684, a letter to the governor was read from 
Sir Lionel Jenkins, one of the king's principal secretaries, with a 
proclamation for the suppressing of privateers and pirates which had 
infested the seas and involved Great Britain in serious controversies 
with nations with which she was at peace. This proclamation was 
published in Newport by the beat of the drum, and the recorder was 
ordered to read it in three of the most public places there. The 
Assembly, in consequence, passed an act, in the preamble of which it 



The Sea Force in War Time. 537 

is asserted that His Majesty's subjects "have and do continually go 
ofif from the Colony unto foreign Prince's services and sail under their 
commissions, contrary to their duty and good allegiance, and by fair 
means cannot be restrained from so doing". 

This act made it felony for any person, inhabiting or belonging to 
the Colony, to serve in any hostile manner under foreign prince or 
potentate in amity with his Majesty, without a license from the gov- 
ernor. It was further ordered that all treasons, piracies, murders, 
etc., committed on the high seas, or in any haven, creek, etc., shall be 
tried the same as if such offense had been committed upon the land, 
before the Court of Admiralty. It was also made a crime for any one 
knowingly to entertain, conceal, trade, or hold correspondence with 
any one supposed to be pirates or connected with privateers. 

There evidently was reason for the enactment of this law, not 
only that the colonists had engaged in the service of foreign powers, 
but that they had given countenance if not protection to privateers 
which had entered the waters of Narragansett Bay, for we find that 
numerous complaints were made to the government to this effect. In 
a letter from the Board of Trade to the Governor and Company of 
Rhode Island, dated the 9th of February, 1696-7, they say that they 
have received such complaints, and that many persons have deserted 
their homes and joined privateers to the great dishonor of the English 
nation. They also direct that in future "no pirate or sea robbers be 
anywhere sheltered or entertained, under the severest penalties". In 
the trial of Avery's crew in London for piracy, it was stated that 
"Rhode Island was a place where pirates are ordinarily too kindly 
entertained ' ' ; and that several privateers whose names were men- 
tioned, among them William Mayes, were actually fitted out in the 
Colony. 

Governor Cranston, in reply to the Board of Trade, says : "That 
things are misrepresented to his Majesty and your Lordships and that 
the Government of Rhode Island was never concerned in, nor coun- 
tenanced, any such thing"; that Mayes, the capital pirate alluded to, 
"had his Clearance from the Custom house at NcAvport, to go on a 
trading voyage to Madagascar with a lawful Commission from the 
Government, to fight the French, his Majesty's enemies; and the best 
information we have is, that Captain Avery and his men plundered 
him. And we very much suspect, too, that they have destroyed him 
and his company, for none of them are yet returned; nor has any 
news been yet received of said Mayes or any of his party". The gov- 
ernor further says : ' ' Upon the receipt of your line and the mandates 
from His Majesty, the General Assembly immediately issued a procla- 
mation for the apprehending of all persons suspected of Piracy, a 
copy of which Proclamation is herewith enclosed to your Lordships ; 
and, furthermore, that we have seized two persons and their moneys, 



538 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Robert Mimday and George Cutler, who, upon examination, do deny 
that they have been further than Madagascar. But we shall endeavor 
to search out the truth, and bring them to trial", etc. Accompanying 
this letter was the proclamation for the apprehension of "all pirates 
and especially Henry Avery and his company", and for the prohibi- 
tion of all persons "from entertaining the said suspected pirates of 
their goods", etc. 

A few weeks after Governor Cranston had written to the Board 
of Trade Edmund Randolph addressed the board on Rhode Island 
affairs, from Boston. He says that not long before he came to Rhode 
Island, "eight Pirates came from Fisher's Island with a great deal of 
money and East India commodities, which they brought in their 
brigantine from IMadagascar, now lying in New York. That six of 
these men escaped to Boston with their goods and money ; but that 
Robert Munday and George Cutler were seized, and about £1,500 
taken from them, which money was retained by the Governor. That 
they were put in prison, and, soon after, by the Governor 's order, ad- 
mitted to bail, one of the Governor's uncles, Gresham Clarke, being 
their security". Randolph further asserts that these men made their 
escape, "leaving their money to be shared by the Governor and his 
two uncles, who have been very great gainers by the Pirates who have 
visited Rhode Island; and that three or four vessels have been fitted 
out here for the Red Sea". He also asserts that several officers of 
the government have enriched themselves by countenancing the 
pirates; and that the deputy-governor, John Greene, has granted a 
commission to one of the pirates, without any security given by the 
master. In a fortnight, Randolph says, he has been informed that the 
governor of Rhode Island intends to appoint a court for the trial of 
Munday and Cutler and, if no one appears to prosecute them, to acquit 
them and deliver them their money. 

Governor Easton, in a declaration, states that John Greene, of 
Warwick, while deputy- governor, gave a commission to John Bankes, a 
privateer, who had come into Newport with Thomas Tew, as he, 
Easton, had refused them a commission "to go out on any such 
designs as they went upon". The Board of Trade was not satisfied 
with the explanations made by the Governor and General Assembly 
of Rhode Island, and addressed to that body a scathing reply, de- 
manding more specific information, regretting that Munday and 
Cutler's "other six companions had not also been captured", and call- 
ing for ' ' authentic copies of all the proceedings ' ', etc. 

Two months after writing the letter of the 25th of October, 1698, 
to the Governor and Company of Rhode Island, the Board of Trade 
made a "Representation", or complaint to King William in relation 
to Rhode Island, a copy of which was transmitted to the General 
Assembly of the Colony. In this complaint they went over the whole 



The Sea Force in War Time. 539 

ground of the alleged capture of the pirates, and the encouragement 
claimed to have been given them and the issuance of the commissions. 
This complaint was dated Whitehall, December 21, 1698. When this 
document was read before the King in Council, January 5, 1698-9, a 
Commission of Inquiry was ordered to be dispatched to procure legal 
evidence m relation to the charges. This commission Avas armed with 
a list of questions to which they were required to obtain replies, and 
full instructions on other matters. With reference to the administra- 
tion of government in the Colony and the granting of commissions to 
privateers, these instructions said : 

"The subjects upon which you are to make more particular in- 
quiries, are the officers in any part of the administration of the gov- 
ernment, and the legality of their qualification for the execution of 
their respective offices. The constitution of their militia. The Com- 
missions of War, which they have, at any time, granted to commanders 
of ships, and their conduct in relation to piracy or to persons either 
known or who might reasonably have been suspected to be guilty 
thereof; and also in relation to illegal trade and traders". 

Governor Cranston, under date of May 27, 1699, addressed the 
Board of Trade in reply to the charges of misdemeanor, a temperate 
letter in vindication of the Colony relative to privateers and piracy, in 
which he expressed the loyalty of the colonists to the king ; their will- 
ingness to be guided by royal instructions, and supply information and 
explanation upon all phases of the subject. To this letter the Board of 
Trade replied in terms of unusual severity for an official communica- 
tion, claiming that the commissions in question, of which the Board 
had received copies, gave "power to take, slay, burn, and utterlj' 
destroy his Majesty's enemies' vessells, goods, &c., and to make prize. 
&c. ", and asked, "Are these defensive Commissions'?" Speaking of 
the governor, the communication said, "it is evident that he has highly 
transgressed, not only by omitting to take bonds, but in granting any 
Commission whatsoever", etc. 

In September, 1699, the Earl of Bellomont, by \^rtue of his com- 
mission, visited Newport ' ' to make inquiry and examine into the dis- 
orders, irregularities and maladministrations committed and practiced 
by and within the Government". The result of his inquiries is incor- 
porated in a leport which he made to the Lords Commissioners of 
Trade and Foreign Plantations, dated Boston, November 27, 1699. 
The report begins by stating that the people "seem to have wholly 
neglected the royal intention, and their own professed declaration, 
recited in their Charter, of godly edifying themselves and one another, 
in the holy Christian faith and worship, and for gaining over and con- 
version of the poor ignorant Indian nations". Continuing, "that the 
generality of the people are shamefully ignorant and all manner of 



540 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

licentiousness and profaneness does greatly abound, and is indulged 
within the Government ' '. Regarding naval matters, it continues : 

"Deputy Governor Greene, during the time of the late War, 
granted severall sea Commissions under the publick Seal of the 
Collony unto private men of war (otherwise pirates), expresslly con- 
trary to the will of the Governor, then in the actual exercise of the 
Government; and, notwithstanding his forbidding the same, took no 
security of the persons to whom the same were granted, nor could he 
tell by the contents of them, who was to execute the same, being 
directed in an unusuall manner to the Captain, his assignee or 
assignees; and otherwise full of tautologies and nonsense. And all 
the vessels whereof the commanders were so commissionated went to 
Madagascar and the seas of India, a,nd were employed to commit 
piracy. The said Greene is likewise complained of for exercising 
divers other exorbitant and arbitrary acts of power, under color of 
his office. 

' ' The government is notoriously faulty in countenancing and har- 
boring of pirates, who have openly brought in and disposed of their 
effects there ; whereby the place has been greatly enriched. And not 
only plain breaches of the Acts of Trade and Navigation have been 
connived at, but also manifest and known piracies, and all that has 
been done by them on pretence of seizing and taking up of known 
pirates, has been so slender, weak and not pursued to effect, as plainly 
demonstrates it was more in show than out of any hearty zeal or desire 
to suppress and bring such notorious criminals to justice, and their 
care has so little therein, that when they had some of the greatest of 
those villains in their power, they have suffered them to escape. ' ' 

In the journal of his visit to Rhode Island the Earl of Bellomont 
says he made inquiry of Governor Cranston about a man named 
Gillam, who had been for some time on the island, and had come as a 
passenger with Captain Kidd from Madagascar, but that no complaint 
had been made against him. Peleg Sanford, however, made a different 
statement to the earl relative to this Gillam, who, he said, was a pirate 
and was then in Newport with other pirates ; and that ' ' such men are 
here countenanced, entertained, and concealed, as will appear by the 
evidence enclosed"; "that for such as are seized and committed, bonds 
to the amount of £2,000 or £3,000 are forthwith given for them ; and 
having thus obtained their liberty, they gave notice unto their wicked 
companions, whereby they know how and where to conceal them- 
selves". 

Although it is evident from the information obtained by Lord 
Bellomont in his visit to Newport that public business in the Colony 
was not conducted with the regularity required, and that irregularities 
had and did still exist, particularly in the granting of privateers ' com- 
missions, it does not appear that there was any complicity between 



The Sea Force in AVar Time. 541 

the authorities of the Colony and the parties engaged in piracy, as 
might be inferred from the report of his lordship. The facilities with 
which commissions for letters of marque were obtained during the 
w^ars with Holland, France and Spain, induced many adventurers to 
resort to Rhode Island for that purpose ; while the advantages of the 
fine harbors of Narragansett Bay led the owners of these privateers to 
not only fit them out here, but also to return to Newport with their 
booty. These enterprises, which were a legitimate part of warfare, 
induced numbers of sea-faring men to quit their more legitimate pro- 
fessions and resort to privateering. Originally they embarked on their 
voyages with good and legitimate intentions; but it is apparent that 
some of them became on too intimate terms with pirates and may have 
purchased a share in their booty. The notorious William Kidd was 
within our waters, where he landed portions of his ill-gotten treasure, 
as appears from the evidence laid before the Earl of Bellomont. Sev- 
eral of his men, charged with piracy, also took refuge here and on the 
east end of Long Island, where they were sought by the authorities at 
the instigation of his lordship. Kidd was taken in Boston, and 
although some of his companions were arrested in Rhode Island, most 
of them eluded capture. The British government sent a ship to 
Boston for Kidd and his associates in prison, who were taken to Eng- 
land and executed.^ 

At the June session of the Assembly, 1704, Governor Cranston 
announced that a Spanish prize had been brought in by Captain 
Halsey of the brigantine Charles, a privateer commissioned by him 

'The following is among the Warner Papers so called in the custody of the 
Record Commissioners of Providence. From its appearance it would seem 
to be a copy and not an original, although it was evidently written many 
years ago. It is introduced here for its seeming connection with the notorious 
Kidd. 

To John Bailey, Esq., New York. Sir: I fear we are in a bad situation. 
We are taken for pirates and you must come to Boston as soon as you get this; 
there is no one I can depend upon. The man who brings this to you cannot 
read it, he knows nothing what is in it. You must come as soon as you get 
it or I may not see you before I am carried to England. If I do not see you 
I will tell you where my money is, for we have plenty of that if it will do any 
good it is ... is buried on . . . Island in Boston Harbor on the . . . Island 
in two chests containing from £15,000 to (.■20.000 sterling in money jewels 
and dimonds. They are hurried about four feet deep with a flat stone on tliem 
and a pile of stone near by. There is no one that knows where it is but me 
now living as Dick Jones and I hid it when part of my men were in Boston 
and the rest asleep one night: it is about ■ • up the hill side I want to see you 
before we are carried to Old England if possible. If not you must get all the 
witnesses in my favour and the best of counsil to help you. I want you to 
see Col. Slaughter and John Nicholds and James Bogard and Capt. Housen 
and Edward Leach and all that can do me any good. Say nothing to them 
about the money or that I have wrote to you. You know my old fiends in 
New York and who will help me. That Moore scrape is the ^^^st part of my 
case. I think my interest with Lord Belmont and my two commissions and 
some French papers I have with me and my men running away to the pirates 
to Calafero and other things are in my favor All may be safe yet. They 



542 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

against the French and Spaniards, "pursuant to the declaration of 
war and the particular commands of Her Majesty, Queen Anne". He 
stated that Captain Halsey had asked for a condemnation of the prize 
by Colonel Byfield, judge of the Court of Admiralty; but that the 
judge, after having taken steps towards her condemnation, pretended 
that she was not taken by a lawful commission. Byfield furthermore 
alleged that the government of Rhode Island had no authority to grant 
any commissions to private men-of-war, and in consequence suspended 
the act of condemnation. Governor Cranston thought the refusal of 
the judge of admiralty a contempt of the queen's authority, a detri- 
ment to her majesty's interests in the Colony, and a great injury to 
the captors of the vessel. The General Assembly, too, after debating 
the matter and considering the privileges granted by the charter, the 
declaration of war and the instructions sent from time to time to the 
government, did not hesitate to declare that the governor of the 
Colony, by permission of the Assembly, had full power to grant com- 
missions to such vessels to go against and annoy her majesty's enemies. 
They further declared that the governors were fully justified in their 
proceedings in these matters, provided they had taken, and should 
continue to take, bonds and do all things required by law relating to 
men-of-war. These views Governor Cranston fully explained in a 
letter to Byfield, dated June 16, 1705, to which the latter replied on 
July 19, 1705, explaining his position in the matter at length. From 
his decision the owners of the brigantine Charles which captured the 
Spanish vessel— Nicholas Paige, John Coleman, Benjamin Gallup, and 
John Walker, of Newport— appealed to the governor of Massachusetts 

think I have money buried down at Plymouth or down that way some where, 
they don't think it is so near to Boston, but they shant have my money and 
life too. Don't fail to come to me as soon as you get this. I enquired the best 
way by land to N. York and told him to go to Worcester and then to Quabog 
an Indian town where Maj. Willard fought the ingians, there is a pond and a 
stream leading to Connecticut River and down to Hartford and by water to 
New York and to give this to you himself Say nothing to him about me or that 
you ever saw me but come without fail or if "l am gone to England be there as 
soon as possible. Secure the money and diamonds before you come as money 
will do a great deal for us. It will buy a great many people and all the poor 
ones I want in my favour. Keep dark in N Y'ork, say nothing to any but my 
friends. Don't fail to be in Boston before I am carried to England as I can 
tell you more than I can write and better what I want. I told the man who 
brings this to you if he met with any trouble or was taken by the Indians to 
hide his papers in some safe place where he can find them if he gets away. 
I will put them in glass for if he should get them wet or anything happens 
to him they will be safe. I can't think of any thing more to write now, but 
will tell you all when you come. They keep me well and are kind to me here. 
This from your friend ROBERT KID. 

Boston 1700-1. 

N. B. Come soon without fail and I will tell you more and all about the 
money it is on . . . island about . . . down the harbour of Boston they don't 
think it is so near to Boston. But you must keep dark here, say nothing to 
any one here about me till you see me. R. KID. 



The Sea Force in AVar Time. 543 

and New Hampshire, who, in addition to being oovernor of those 
Colonies, was vice-admiral of the seas and maritime ports of Rhode 
Island, as well as of the other two Colonies. Governor Dudley, on the 
27th of June, wrote to Colonel Byfield at Bristol, stating that "if 
speedy proceedings and condemnation be not made, all the cars'o of 
the prize will be embezzled or lost ' ' : and tliat as it was no fault of 
Captain Halsey's, but an error of Governor Cranston's in granting the 
connnission, he advised the condenniation of the prize and cargo ; the 
particulars of this transaction, he said, he would represent to' her 
majesty, the queen, and in conclusion says, he is "informed that the 
governor as well as the people in that Colony are in sucli disorder, that 
he cannot advise any other method of proceeding''. 

Governor Dudley appears to have entertained no friendly feeling 
toward Rhode Island, for we find him, in November, 1705, in pur- 
suance of the connnands of the Board of Trade, preferring most serious 
charges against the Colony in a communication addressed by him to 
that body. The charges are only a repetition of those before made to 
the king, which the Earl of Belloniont had made the subject of his 
visit to Newport some years before. Besides the specifications which 
charged the Colony with a non-observance of the acts of trade and 
navigation, the too free granting of commissions to privateers, and the 
protection given to freebooters. Governor Dudley complains that she 
did not "furnish her quota of troops towards the fortifying of Albany 
and assisting of New York" ; and "for not giving due assistance to the 
Colony of the Massachusetts Bay against the French and Indians". 
These go to show of what importance our little Colony was a hundred 
and seventy-five years ago, when the greater Colonies of New York 
and Massachusetts required her to furnish aid to repel the French and 
Indians on their borders hundreds of miles distant ; and, at the same 
time, too, when the home government was calling upon her to send out 
her private men-of-war against the enemies of England. In this state 
of things it is not surprising that the people, in choosing between the 
demands of their sovereign, Queen Anne, to annoy her enemies at sea, 
by sending out private armed ships against them, and the demands of 
her sister Colonies for aid, should have given the preference to the 
former service. In that, the people of the Colony who fitted out ships 
at their own expense derived a direct pecuniary advantage when they 
succeeded in captnring the vessels of the enemy and obtained their 
condemnation by the Court of Vice- Admiralty. But in the latter case 
they had no direct interest. The French posts on the frontiers of 
Canada and Acadia were at a great distance: they were separated 
from the English colonies by dense forests which Avere occupied by 
hostile Indians, and neither glory nor advantage was to be derived 
from contact with such enemies. The people thought, too, that Massa- 
chusetts with her more numerous population, should be able to protect 



544 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

her own frontier. These seem sufficient reasons why they did not 
furnish the aid required of them by the Colonies of Massachusetts and 
New York. The same causes explain why so many of the young men 
of these same Colonies left their homes, which was another subject of 
complaint by Governor Dudley, w^liere they were obliged to serve 
against the Indians, as well as to contribute by taxes for the support 
of maintaining these wars. 

In quoting from Governor Dudley's letter it is necessary to give 
only those parts which refer directly to the subjects under discussion. 
He wrote under several heads which he "humbly offered to his Lord- 
ship" as sufficient "to make out the particular charge", from which 
the following are taken : 

"1. That the Government of Rhode Island does not observe the 
Acts of Trade and Navigation ; but countenances the violation thereof, 
by permitting and encouraging of illegal trade and piracy. 

"2. That Rhode Island is a receptacle of pirates, who are en- 
couraged and harbored by that Government. 

"3. That the Government of Rhode Island harbors and protects 
seamen, soldiers and servants that desert from other of her Majesty's 
Plantations, and will not deliver them up when they are claimed, etc. 

"9. That the Government have refused to submit to her 
Majesty's and His Royal Highness 's Commissioners of the Admiralty 
and for commanding their Militia ; and have defeated the powers given 
to the Governors of her Majesty's Colonies, in this behalf. 

"18. That two privateers, Lawrence and Blew, commissionated 
by Colonel Dudley, took a Spanish ship upon the coast of Cuba, which 
they brought into Rhode Island, where the men were debauched by 
that Government and prevented from sailing to their commissioned 
port, where they would have been made accountable for her Majesty's 
dues and the rights of the Lord High Admiral. And, although he 
wrote to the Captains, directing them to bring their said prize to Bos- 
ton, where they had received their Commission, and where the owners 
and sharers dwelt; but, on the contrary, the receiver of her Royal 
Highness 's dues was hindered from receiving the same. 

"All which is humbly submitted by your Lordships' most humble 
servant, J. Dudley. 

"Boston, November 5, 1705." 

Dudley sought out all who had any cause of discontent against 
Rhode Island, procured affidavits from them, and lost no opportunity 
to render the Colony as obnoxious as possible in the eyes of the king 
and his ministry. Among the complaints was the outrage upon the 
French settlers some years before, the particulars of which were set 
forth by Pierre Ayrault in a remonstrance to Governor Dudley. To 
add to the bulk of the evidence he procured depositions in New York 



The Sea Force in War Time. 545 

concerning piracies which had occurred years before, and in which 
other Colonies were as much implicated as Rhode Island.^ 

The Board of Trade, on receiving the charges against Rhode 
Island, transmitted them, on the 18th of April, to Lord Cornbnry, then 
governor of New York, with instructions to him to investigate them. 
On the 26th of November his lordship replied to the request, saying 
that he "would pursue Her IMajesty's commands as far as he was 
able", and continuing as follows: 

"The first Article is not observing the laws of trade, and en- 
couraging illegall trade and piracy. This Article relates to both Gov- 
ernments. That the people of Connecticut carry on an illegal trade 
with the East of Long Island, is known to everybody here, and appears 
by the condemnation of a Sloop belonging to Connecticut, named the 
Rachel, which was condemned for illegall trade. That they en- 
couraged piracy, appears by the depositions of Orchard and Hicks to 
which I beg leave to refer. 

"The Next article is that they harbor pirates. 

"The next is for harboring and protecting soldiers, seamen and 
servants, who desert from other Plantations, and refused to deliver 
them when reclaimed. This will appear by the affidavit of Captain 
Matthews to which I refer. 

"The ninth Article is for refusing to submit to Her Majesty's 
and His Royal Highness' commissions of Vice- Admiralty, and for 
commanding their militia. I don't doubt but those who have had 
the honor to serve the Crown in this Government before me, have given 
full accounts of that matter in their time. As for my time. I must 
acquaint your Lordships that two years ago, Colonell Winthrop, who 
was then, and now is, Governor of Connecticut, came to make me a 
visit. I then took the opportunity to tell him that I would go into 
Connecticut and publish my commission for the command of their 
militia, and my commission to be Vice- Admiral. He told me whenever 
I would come into Connecticut I would be welcome; but they would 
not part with their militia. 

By Lord Cornbury's letter it will be seen that Rhode Island was 
not alone in being charged with carrying on illegal capital trade and 
encouraging piracy; but that Connecticut was equally implicated. 
Indeed, his lordship has more to say against Connecticut than Rhode 
Island. He desired to effect the repeal of the charter of Connecticut 
and add that province to New York. With this view he resorted to 
the same means that Dudley did to destroy the charter of Rhode 
Island ; but they both failed in their purposes. As regards privateers 

^The various papers embodying these charges are embraced in forty-two 
documents, and are among the manuscripts in tlie Jolin Carter Brown library. 
They were all arranged under the thirteen Articles of Impeachment. 
35-1 



546 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

we can only account for the number of them in the English colonies 
from the hostility that existed in them all against the Spanish, French, 
and Dutch, who had planted colonies in America, and from the fact 
that they were glad to avail themselves of the slightest pretext to annoy 
them on the sea, as well as on land and, particularly, to take their ships 
and cargoes. 

In August following the General Assembly, at a special session 
for the special purpose, adopted an answer to the charges made 
against the Colony, which had been submitted to that body in a com- 
munication from the Lords Commissioners, dated at Whitehall, March 
26, 1705. This reply was a complete and convincing refutation of the 
charges which Dudley, Cornbury, and other enemies had made against 
her. The agents of the Colony in London, too, had faithfully per- 
formed their part, having appeared before the Board of Trade with 
the voluminous evidence on both sides. With regard to the refusal of 
Rhode Island to furnish her quota of troops for the war and to con- 
tribute her part towards the common cause, the evidence showed that 
she had within seven years expended more than six thousand pounds 
in military defenses and operations ; that she had furnished her quota 
of men to Massachusetts, besides "keeping and maintaining scouts 
upon the frontiers of that Province, whose services had been thank- 
fully acknowledged by it". 

The Board of Trade, in January, 1705-06, in obedience to the Order 
in Council directing them to enumerate to Her Majesty, Queen Anue, 
the several misfeazances and illegal proceedings of the Charter and 
Proprietary Governments in America, made a representation that they 
had not conformed to the Acts of Trade and Navigation ; that the 
governors of Connecticut and Rhode Island had not taken the oaths 
required ; that they were the refuge of pirates and illegal traders ; that 
they refused to submit to the Royal Commissioners of Vice- Admiralty, 
etc. ; indeed, the proceeding was only an enumeration of the old 
charges preferred by Dudley and others. This, with the letters of 
Dudley and Cornbury, was submitted to the attorney and solicitor- 
generals, who gave their opinion that, in certain extraordinary emer- 
gencies, her majesty "may constitute a Governor of such Province or 
Colony, as well for the Civil and Military part of the Government, and 
for the protection and preservation thereof; with the addition only, 
that as to the Civil Government, such Government is not to alter the 
rules or methods of proceeding, in civil causes established by their 
Charters". 

The year 1706 opened with renewed activity on the part of the 
Colony to repel the French, who with a powerful fleet were known to 
be in the AVest Indies, where they had sacked and plundered the 
islands of St. Christopher's and Nevis, and were momentarily expected 
on the coast. Everything was put upon a war footing ; large numbers 



The Sea Force in War Time. 547 

of volunteers were enrolled in the militia; scouts were placed along 
the whole line ot the coast, and a body of troops was stationed oS 
iSiock Island. these precautions were necessary," wrote the Gov 
ernor and Council to the Board of Trade, "as the French General and 
Admiral has given out threatenings against these parts, so that we are 
upon the watch, and raised up several breastworks and batteries about 
the town of Newport, m order to prevent the enemy landing near the 
town". In addition to these the Colony had several vessels on the 
coast to guard against privateers, as well as to give early notice of the 
approach of any of the hostile fleet. 

In June of this year a French privateer, near Block Island, took 
a sloop laden with provisions. The particulars of the capture were 
immediately sent by express to the governor at Newport. Proclama- 
tion was at once made for volunteers, and within two hours two sloops, 
fitted and manned with one hundred and twenty men, under command 
of Captain John Wanton, were sent in pursuit of the enemy. In three 
hours Captain Wanton came up with the French privateer, at once 
gave her battle and captured her ; retook the prize she had taken, and 
brought both safely to Newport. The privateer was manned with 
forty men and was hastening with her prize to Port Royal, where they 
were in great want of provisions. 

The success of this gallant affair gave great satisfaction through- 
out the country and added fresh laurels to the naval flag of this 
Colony. The General Assembly, in session at Newport in July, voted 
£200 toward defraying the expense of the expedition and for support- 
ing the prisoners taken. They also acknowledged the great service 
rendered by the governor in his prompt action and voted him a "pres- 
ent gratuity" of five pounds; in addition they empowered him, "in 
case of invasion, to press any vessels for the Colony's service, with 
other necessaries as may be by his Honor judged needful". The ves- 
sels so taken up were to be appraised by two men, one chosen by the 
governor and one by the owners. Byfield, judge of admiralty, in giv- 
ing an account of this exploit by Captain Wanton to the ministry, 
said he condemned the prize without exacting the legal fee, "in order 
to encourage so brisk an action". 

It is now necessary to go back a little in the story to notice briefly 
the capture of Block Island in July, 1689. On that occasion a large 
bark, a small bark, two sloops, and some smaller craft, all French 
privateers, appeared off the island, greatly alarming the inhabitants. 
When the vessels came in near the shore a boat put off from one of 
them and landed, where the crew were met by the islanders m large 
numbers ; the latter had come down to the shore armed, not knowing 
whether their visitors were friends or foes. In reply to inquiry as to 
who they were, whence they came, and the name of their commander, 
they were answered by one William Trimming, an Englishman, who 



548 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

said their commander was George Asten, a man who was well known 
to the islanders as a privateersman whose exploits among the Span- 
iards and French had given him fame. Trimming further said they 
were Englishmen, but that their crews were French and Spanish; that 
their captain's name was Pekar [probably Picor, or Piquard] ; that 
they came from Jamaica and were bound for Newport; they added 
that they wanted a pilot to take them into that harbor where they 
might purchase wood, provisions, and obtain water. The story was 
plausible and the islanders believed it; this belief was strengthened by 
a stranger then on the island who claimed acquaintance with Captain 
Asten, and who sent his compliments to him. 

When Trimming saw that his story was believed he took his de- 
parture, joined his vessel and the fleet made sail towards Newport. 
They had not gone far when they saw a pilot boat at a distance, which 
they signaled and brought her to their assistance. But no sooner had 
the pilot and his crew got aboard the vessel than they were made 
prisoners, driven into the hold, and there questioned as to the strength 
of Newport and Block Island. The situation was now apparent; but 
finding the town stronger than they had anticipated, and believing 
they had quieted the fears of the Block Islanders, they determined to 
return, take possession of the island and plunder it. Three boats 
(periaugers) were manned with about fifty men each, their guns 
placed in the bottoms of the boats, and they pushed for the shore. 
Landing, they were again met by a body of the islanders, who, says 
the narrator, "were something amused at their number". Neverthe- 
less, believing them to be friendly Englishmen, they directed the 
visitors to the best landing-place. No sooner had they reached this 
spot than the men in the boats sprang to their feet, seized their guns 
and presenting them at the astonished inhabitants told them if they 
showed the least resistance they would be shot. Thus they became 
prisoners to their supposed friends. The pirates, as they had proved 
themselves to be, disarmed the islanders, broke their guns in pieces on 
the rocks and led them to the large house of Captain James Sands, 
which stood near the landing-place; here they were confined under a 
guard, and the pirates set to work plundering the houses, killing cattle, 
sheep, and hogs, not only to feed upon, but to impoverish the people 
and lay the island waste. 

The people now saw the deception practiced on them by Trim- 
ming. He was the only Englishman in the party and was used as a 
decoy when the pirates wished to board an English vessel; on such 
occasions he was sent on board the vessel to deceive the crew as he did 
the Block Island people. 

News was at once sent to the mainland that the island had fallen 
into the hands of the French ; beacon-fires were lighted along the coast 
from Pawcatuck Point to Seaconnet, and the whole country was 



i 



The Sea Force in War Time. 549 

aroused. For a week the piratical crews remained in quiet possession 
of the island, plundering the houses and despoiling everything 
movable. One narrator states that they connnitted great abuses upon 
Simon Ray, an aged man and one of the most prominent men on the 
island. Mr. Ray and his son, on seeing the enemy approach, and while 
yet at a distance, took their money and valuable effects out of the 
house and concealed them. The pirates having ascertained that chests 
and other articles had been suddenly removed, demanded their restora- 
tion, together with the Rays' money. On his refusal to give them up 
they became enraged and beat him over the head with a rail, and would 
have killed him on the spot but for the interference of his wife. In- 
deed, so covered with blood was her husband as he lay senseless on the 
floor that she believed him dead. He finally recovered and lived many 
years. The pirates also abused John Rathbun, who, they were told, 
had money; mistaking the son for the father, they tied him up and 
whipped him unmercifully in the vain endeavor to extort from hi 111 llie 
place where they supposed he had concealed his money. 

Among other atrocities of the pirates was the killing of two negro 
men, one belonging to Mr. Ray, before mentioned, the other to Cajitain 
John Sands. Two of the servants of Dr. John Rodman ran away from 
him and joined the French. This Dr. Rodman, writes the narrator, 
Rev. Samuel Niles, "was a gentleman of great ingenuity and of an 
affable, engaging behavior, of the profession of then called Quakers. 
He also kept a Meeting in his house, on the Sabbaths, with exhortations 
unto good works, after the manner of teachers of that society, but 
more agreeably than I suppose is common with them, judging from 
the meetings I had often attended in my younger time''. When the 
Frenchman came to Dr. Rodman's "one of them essayed to lead his 
wife, a very desirable gentlewoman, into a private room, but the Doc- 
tor stepped into the doorway, and prevented him". Upon this the 
ruffian cocked his pistol and threatend to shoot him : \v]iei'eni)on the 
Doctor opened his clothes on his breast and said : ' ' Thou mayest do 
it if thou pleasest, but thou shalt not abuse my wife. 

While the piratical fleet lay riding at anchor off the island they 
took two vessels bound up the sound, one of which being laden chiefly 
with steel, they sunk ; the other had a cargo of wine and other liquors. 

The great bonflres before spoken of along the coast of the main- 
land naturally led the pirates to believe that the country had taken 
alarm and might send out a force against them; at any rate, they 
became satisfied from what they could learn that it would be useless 
for them to make any attempt on Newport, which was tlie populous 
town and protected by fortifications. They then determined to make 
an attack on New London, which they imagined would be less prepared 
for them. For this port they accordingly sailed and entered its luir- 
bor; but the country having been warned of their approach, large 



550 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

numbers of men from the bordering towns had come to New London 
for its relief. This place, like Newport, had its well-built fort as 
protection from the Indians. The piratical fleet had scarcely i cached 
its harbor when a volley from the great guns on the fort was fired 
upon them with good effect. This being a reception for which they 
were not prepared, they hastily drew^ off, and made sail, intending to 
return to Block Island, there to renew their work of plunder. 

As the fleet was passing out to sea, some of the company landed on 
Fisher's Island, upon which there was then but a single house. Trim- 
ming, the Englishman before spoken of, who was one of the party, 
having mentioned his intention to stop there, the people of Stonington 
got wind of it, when a party of seventeen men determined to intercept 
him. They accordingly set off, and by landing on another part of the 
island, approached the house spoken of before they were discovered by 
the pirates, who had already arrived. Trimming now came out in an 
apparently friendly manner, with his gun concealed behind his back, 
to receive them; whereupon the Stonington party demanded whence 
they came. Trimming replied that they had been shipwrecked. One 
of the Englishmen from Stonington then said, "If you are friends, lay 
down your guns, and come behind us". Upon this Stephen Richard- 
son, fearing an attack of the pirates, leveled his gun and shot Trim- 
ming dead on the spot, an act for which he was much blamed. ' ' Thus, ' ' 
writes the honest Niles, "he that delighted in falsehood in his life died 
with a lie in his mouth ; and received, it seems, the just reward of his 
perfidious, villainous, and multiplied treacheries". 

While the French privateers were engaged in their futile attempt 
upon NeW' London, the people of Newport were busily engaged in fit- 
ting out an armed force of volunteers, with two sloops, with which to 
attack them ; and, supposing they were still at Block Island, they sailed 
thither. The expedition was under the command of Captain, or Com- 
modore, Paine, as he Avas sometimes called, a daring fellow, who had, 
some years before, "followect the privateering design", a very mild 
term for a freebooter, and who, notwithstanding his occupation, still 
enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-citizens at Newport. The second 
in command was Capt. John Godfrey, a brave and energetic officer, 
who had also seen active service, and was eager to try his hand with the 
piratical crew. Arriving at Block Island, they found the Frenchmen 
had taken their departure, and learning that when they sailed they had 
taken a northwesterly course in the direction of New London, they 
stood off to the westward, in the hope of intercepting them in case 
they should be beaten off. The Block Island vessels had not proceeded 
far when they discovered a small fleet standing eastward, which proved 
to be the piratical vessels. Preparations were now hastily made to 
receive the enemy— the crews prepared their small arms, and their 
great guns were all brought to bear on one side, that their first dis- 



The Sea Force in War Time. 55 1 

charge might be the more effectual. The Frenchmen discovered the 
approaching sloops, which they imagined to be unarmed merchant 
vessels, and made all sail, expecting soon to secure them as prizes. As 
they approached, a periauger full of men was sent by the pirates to 
demand the surrender of the sloops. Captain Paine 's gunner urged 
him to fire on them at once ; but the captain proposed waiting for their 
nearer approach. He at length sent a shot at them, wliich was seen 
to skip over the water and strike the bank, as they were not far from 
tlie shore. This unexpected shot alarmed the pirates and brought 
them to a stand, when they pulled off as fast as possible to await the 
coming up of their ships. 

As the Frenchmen approached they bore down upon tlie Rhode 
Island vessels, the great bark leading the way, and poured into them 
a broadside with small arms. They were quickly answered with the 
same, followed with shouts and huzzas from our vessels ; and the action 
now became general. The larger sloop now followed, the captain of 
which was a most violent and daring fellow. "He took a glass of 
wine", says the narrator, "and wished it might be his damnation if he 
did not board the English immediately". While drinking, a bullet 
struck him in the neck, when he fell dead, as they afterwards learned 
from the prisoners. The other vessels now passed in course, each dis- 
charging a broadside, then tacked, and brought their opposite guns to 
bear. In this manner the fight was kept up on both sides until dark- 
ness came on and put an end to the conflict. The piratical captain and 
several of his men were killed, and some of them driven on shore. On 
the part of the English but one man, an Indian, was killed and six 
white men wounded. It seems that the enemy aimed too high, as 
numbers of their cannon and musket-balls were picked up on the ad- 
jacent shore. 

A second encounter was expected on the following morning, as 
the French lay at anchor all night at a short distance ; but the fight 
was not renewed, perhaps because their ammunition had run short. A 
reason current in Newport why the Frenchmen did not renew the 
combat was that Peckar, their captain, had been informed that in 
encountering the English or Rhode Island vessels, he had been fighting 
with Captain Paine; and that he had said he "would as soon fight the 
devil as Paine". It is understood, too, that Paine and Peckar had 
sailed together in privateering expeditions in former wars, the former 
as captain and the latter as lieutenant, which is quite probable. 

The piratical fleet now stood off to sea, pursued by two Rhode 
island sloops under Paine and Godfrey: but the Frenchmen, being 
more expert sailors, left them far astern. The prize vessel, loaded 
^\dth wines, which the latter had taken, not being so good a sailor as 
the fleet, fell behind, and fearing the English would come up and re- 
capture her, her captors fired a cannon ball through her bottom. 



552 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

When the English came up with her they found her sinking and merely 
secured as a trophy the long boat at her stern. 

Block Island, though these privateers had departed, was not 
wholly forgotten by them, as it appears that before the end of the 
year some of the same company, with others, landed one night, sur- 
prised the inhabitants in their beds and proceeded in the same manner 
as they had before ; they plundered houses, killed cattle, and committed 
other depredations, but killed no one. The Eev. Samuel Niles, who 
has left the fullest account of the visits of these privateers, was one of 
the sufferers on the occasion of this second visit, and was maltreated 
and left bound on his bed. On the first visit Mr. Niles and many 
others took refuge in the great swamp. 

During the continuance of the war with France the pirates made 
a third visit to Block Island, but at just what time does not appear, 
and met with no opposition. James Sands and his family, whose house 
had been their headquarters on previous occasions, took to the woods 
to avoid a repetition of former outrages. Mr. Niles, who was a grand- 
son of Mr. Sands, accompanied his family and was followed by others. 
The pirates landed on a Sunday morning, and, forming a long train in 
two files, with colors flying and trumpets sounding, marched up and 
took possession of the island. "Thus they came", says Mr. Niles, "in 
triumph and as absolute lords of the soil, and all belonging thereto, as 
indeed they were for the time." They set up their standard on the 
hill, after which they set to work killing geese, pigs, etc., and fired 
several shots at particular houses. 

The operations of the piratical crews were soon arrested by the 
appearance of a large English man-of-war, the Nonesuch, Captain 
Dobbins. This ship lay at anchor about a league away, where she had 
been concealed by a dense fog; hence, neither the pirates nor the 
islanders had discovered her until the fog cleared away. As soon as 
the Frenchmen discovered the Nonesuch they hurried on board their 
own vessels, and after sending ashore a number of English prisoners, 
made sail. Among these prisoners was Captain Rodney and his wife. 
They were from the West Indies and possessed a large fortune, most 
of which he had with him in money and which was taken by the 
pirates. He was on his way to establish a home in the northern 
colonies. 

Soon after leaving the island both the piratical vessels and the 
English man-of-war in pursuit disappeared in the fog ; but both took 
the same course to the northeast and the pirates were finally overtaken 
in Buzzard's Bay. Finding there was no chance of escape by sea, 
about forty of them landed in the vain hope of concealing themselves 
or of escaping by land ; but they were soon seized and disarmed by 
the people who dwelt near and who may have heard of their acts on 
the coast. They were sent to Boston as prisoners. The remainder 



The Sea Force in AYar Time. 



553 



with their vessels fell into the hands of Captain Dobbins. The prizes, 
which proved to be very rich, were sent to Newport, where they were 
condemned. 

In 1708 French privateers again appeared on the coast, which 
awakened anew the naval spirit of the Colony. "On the eighth of 
September ' ', writes Governor Cranston to the IBoard of Trade,^' ' upon 
intelligence given me by an express from Martha's Vineyard, that a 
Privateer had chased and taken a Sloop, and chased a Briganteen on 
shore, npon said island, I despatched (within three hours thereof) two 
Sloops under command of Major William AVanton and Captain John 
Cranston. The enemy fearing a sudden expedition, being well ac- 
quainted with our dispatch on such occasions, burnt his prize, and 
made the best of his way into the sea, so that our people could not get 
any sight of him''. 

A fourth time certain pirates, but whether French or otherwise 
was unknown to Rev. Samuel Niles, who narrates the story, made an 
attack upon Block Island, and were driven off without loss of life to 
the inhabitants. 

At this time there were twenty-nine vessels belonging to the 
Colony, its trade having increased much within a few years. These 
vessels were engaged in trade wdth Madeira, Fayal, the West Indies, 
and Spanish Main. The cause of this increase was attributed by 
Governor Cranston in his letter to the Board of Trade "to the inclina- 
tion the youth on Rhode Island have to the sea". "The land on the 
island ' ', he adds, * ' is all taken up and improved in small farms, so that 
the farmers are compelled to place their children to trades or callings; 
but their inclination being to navigation, the greater part betake them- 
selves to that employment". The number of inhabitants in the Colony 
was, at this time, seven thousand one hundred and eighty-one, of 
which four hundred and twenty-six were blacks. 

In May, 1709, upon the demand of Her Majesty. Queen Anne, an 
expedition was organized for the invasion of Canada; a war tax of 
one thousand dollars was ordered to be levied; and two sloops, the 
Diamond and the Endeavor, taken up for the purpose, together with 
some transports, to carry the troops to Boston. Capt. Edward 
Thurston was chosen commissary, and was, furthermore, charged wath 
the duty of providing naval stores, arms, amnumition, etc., for the 
expedition. Two hundred effective men were equipped and drilled for 
the service in little more than a month ; and, under command of Col. 
William Wanton, sailed for Nantasket, the rendezvous of the fleet, on 
the 19th of June, and arrived three days later. They were destined 
to remain there five months, in the pay of the Cok)ny, o\\nng to the 
non-arrival of the British fleet which was to co-operate with them. 
After waiting several months for the fleet Colonel Vetch, the queen's 
messenger, requested the colonial government to meet Colonel Nichol- 



554 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

son, the commander of the expedition, and himself "at the most com- 
modious centrical place of all the said Governments, which", he says, 
"I humbly conceive to be about New London". Soon afterward he 
appointed Newport as the place of meeting, which took place about 
the 12th of October, whence it was adjourned to Rehoboth, as being 
more convenient. The meeting was over before the 19th, as Governor 
Saltonstall returned to New Haven on that day from the convention. 
With the same object in view a special session of the General Assembly 
of Rhode Island took place in September, at which a committee of ten 
was appointed to aid the governor. In the following month news 
arrived from England of the defeat of the allies of Spain and the 
consequent withdrawal of the fleet destined for Canada. An address 
to the queen was adopted, urging anew the reduction of Canada. This 
policy was brought before the Assembly in October and determined 
upon. At the same time an act was passed for disbanding the troops 
and withdrawing the transports which had been sent five months 
before to Nantasket, as before stated. The new act of the Assembly 
provided for raising one hundred and forty effective men for an ex- 
pedition against Port Royal in Nova Scotia; and another was passed 
for issuing £5,000 in Bills of Credit for defrajdng the expenses to be 
incurred. Similar proceedings were taken by other colonies. The 
Council of AVar now called upon Rhode Island to furnish two hundred 
men for the proposed expedition to Port Royal. AVhile the Assembly 
claimed that this number was greater than the due proportion, the 
two hundred men were ordered to be raised and Lieut.-Col. John 
Cranston was chosen for their command. When all provisions for the 
expedition had been made the Assembly voted an Address to the queen 
relative to excessive quota of men furnished by this Colony. The fleet 
for the expedition consisted of twelve ships of war and twenty-four 
transports, and sailed from Nantasket September 18, 1710. Three of 
these vessels were in the pay of Rhode Island and the others in that 
of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Of troops there 
were five regiments, all commanded by General Nicholson. They 
arrived at Port Royal in six days. Then began the memorable siege 
of more than a week, ending with triumph for the colonial arms. One 
Connecticut transport ran aground at the mouth of the river and her 
crew of twenty-six men were lost. On the 2d of October a summons, 
was sent to the fort to surrender and the terms of capitulation were 
soon settled and articles signed. The English lost only fourteen or 
fifteen men, besides those drowned. The name of Port Royal was then 
changed to Annapolis Royai, Colonel Vetch was left in charge of the 
fort, and the fleet and army returned to Boston^ where they received 
a joyful ovation. The whole of New England shared in the jubilant 
feeling and the Rhode Island Assembly voted a gratuity to Major 
George Lee, who brought the news of the event. It would appear 



The Sea Force in War Time. 555 

from the Rhode Island records that one of the Colony's sloops was 
lost, and an appropriation of £1,000 Avas made for it ; but Hutchinson 
mentions only the loss of the Connecticut vessel. 

The success of the Port Royal expedition greatly stimulated the 
military spirit which had ever prevailed in New England, and par- 
ticularly in Rhode Island. Moreover, the leaders of that expedition 
were encouraged by its success to renewed attempts against Canada. 
General Nicholson, who had returned to England, lost no time in 
bringing to the notice of the ministry his plans for another campaign 
for the purpose of completely reducing Canada, which met with favor, 
and he returned at once to New England to announce the intentions 
of the home government. A convention of governors was called and 
assembled at New London to formulate plans for the campaign ; before 
their labor was completed the British fleet of fifteen ships of war and 
forty transports, under Sir Hovenden Walker, arrived at Boston. 
Great was the joy manifested throughout New England. The several 
legislatures were called together and prompt and energetic measures 
were determined on. The Rhode Island General Assembly voted an 
address to Queen Anne rendering to her majesty "the most hearty 
thanks for her indulgent care and thoughtfulness of us, in these Her 
Majesty's Plantations", in the endeavor "to oppress our enemies in 
these parts". Thanks Avere also voted to General Nicholson for his 
zeal in the cause. At the same time it was ordered that one hundred 
and seventy-nine men be raised for the proposed expedition, and that 
Major James Brown and George Goulding, with the commissary- 
general, be a committee to buy a vessel for the Colony's service in the 
expedition, together with supplies for the same. To provide for the 
expenses to be incurred, £1,000 were voted and an additional £6,000 
were to be issued in Bills of Credit, a portion of which Avas for the 
same service. 

With remarkable promptitude the northern Colonies responded to 
the call for men and provisions, in which Rhode Island did her part ; 
but a new difficulty now arose, through the low credit of England, 
which prevented the negotiation of bills of exchange to provide for 
the expenses of the invasion. In the emergency Massachusetts came 
nobly forward, as she has ever done on similar occasions, and issued 
Bills of Credit which were given to merchants who furnislied pro- 
visions and other necessaries to the fleet. After a month's delay the 
fleet sailed from Boston under Admiral Walker Avith a force of five 
veteran regiments of Marlborough 's army, and two colonial regiments, 
in all about 7,000 men, under Brigadier-General Hill. New York, 
New Jersey, and Connecticut furnished fifteen hundred men for the 
expedition, who assembled at Albany, for operations against Montreal 
to be made simultaneously Avith the attack on Quebec. About eight 
hundred Avarriors of the Five Nations of Indians also joined the forces, 



556 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

all of which was put under command of General Nicholson. The fleet 
entered the St. Lawrence in safety and there waited six days for the 
arrival of the transports. But before proceeding farther a violent 
storm came on in which eight of the transports were wrecked and 
nearly 1,000 men lost. Great blame was attached to Admiral Walker 
for this delay, as he could easily have reached Quebec before the storm 
came on. This disaster broke up the expedition, and the admiral sent j 
home the colonial transports and sailed for England with his fleet. I 
General Nicholson heard of the disaster before he reached Lake Cham- 
plain and at once returned with his army. 

The Colonies, including Rhode Island, severally adopted addresses 
to the queen setting forth the exertions they had made in the cause 
against her enemies, the French, and urged another expedition against 
Canada; but the peace M^hich soon after followed, by which Acadia 
(now Nova Scotia), New Foundland and the region around Hudson's 
Bay was ceded to Great Britain, rendered it unnecessary. 

In 1718 an act was passed for the encouragement of seamen, by J 
which the enemy's vessels and other property appertaining thereto," 
taken by vessels legally commissioned by the governor, should belong 
to the captors, excepting certain dues to his majesty. The following , 
year a letter was written from Newport by Caleb Heathcote, governor I 
of the Colony of New York, to the Board of Trade, making a complaint 1 
against Rhode Island, among other things for making laws which ^ 
operated against the king's officers, who, by hindering the colonists 
"from a full freedom of legal trade, are accounted enemies to the 
growth and prosperity of their little Commonwealth". And, " 'tis 
very wonderful to me", continues the writer, "who am thoroughly 
acquainted with the temper of the people, that none of his Majesty's 
officers of the Customs have been mobbed and torn in pieces by the 
rabble, and of which some of them have very narrowly escaped; an 
instance whereof happened in this town, to the present Collector, who 
having made seizure of several hogsheads of claret, illegally imported, 
and notwithstanding he had the Governor's warrant and the High 
Sheriff, besides his own officers, to assist, and took the claret in the 
day time, yet the town's people had insolence to rise upon them, and 
insult both them and the civil officers ; and having, by violence, after a 
riotous and tumultuous manner, rescued and possessed themselves of 
the seizure, set the hogsheads ahead and stove them open, and with 
pails drank out and carried away most of the wine, and then threw 
the remainder into the streets. 

' ' No sooner was the tumult over, than John Wanton ' ', continues 
Mr. Heathcote, "who uses the sea, and is Master of a Sloop, a Magis- 
trate of the people's choice (as may be reasonably supposed), for 
keeping up the rage and humor of the mob", issued his warrant for 
arresting Mr. Kay, the collector, under pretense of his taking greater 



The Sea Force in War Time. 557 

fees than the law allowed. In bringing the matter before the governor, 
Kay was discharged ; nevertheless, Wanton caused him to be arrested 
again, refused to admit him to bail, and hurried him to prison amid a 
crowd of spectators. 

Piratical vessels had lately made their appearance again on the 
coast; indeed, they had not ceased with the termination of the late 
war, but continued their depredations along the whole American coast 
and in the West Indies. On the 8th of May, 1723, two of these vessels, 
the Ranger and the Fortune, which had committed several piracies 
and were well known, captured the ship Amsterdam Merchant, John 
Welland, master. The next day they plundered her of money and 
stores, after which they cut off the captain's head and sunk the vessel. 
A month later they took a Virginia sloop, and after rifling her of her 
valuables, let her go. On the following day this vessel fell in with 
His Britannic Majesty's ship, the Greyhound, commanded by Captain 
Solgard, of tAventy guns, to whom they related the particulars of their 
capture and release. Learning that the pirates had sailed northward 
in the direction of Block Island, the Greyhound made sail in pursuit 
and fortunately came up with them three days later, near the east end 
of Long Island. The pirates took the Greyhound for a merchant 
vessel and gave chase, engaging her in battle. The contest was warm 
for an hour, when the pirates discovered that they had mistaken their 
antagonist and were getting the worst of the battle, and they made an 
attempt to escape. The wind being light. Captain Solgard got out 
his boats and followed in pursuit. A second engagement took place, 
during which the Greyhound got between the pirates and after a while 
succeeded in disabling one of them, when they called for quarter. The 
other vessel escaped. The captured vessel and her crew of thirty-six 
men were taken to Newport. Such a capture created a sensation in the 
Colony, which suffered much from the depredations of pirates during 
many years, and the General Assembly ordered a military force to 
guard the prison where the pirates were confined. In July an Ad- 
miralty Court, of which William Dummer, lieutenant-governor of 
Massachusetts, was president, sat in Newport to try the prisoners. 
The other members of the court were Richard AVard, register ; Jahleel 
Brenton, jr., provost marshal; Governor Cranston, the collector of 
Rhode Island, four members of the Massachusetts Council, and some 
others. The trial occupied two days and resulted in the conviction of 
twenty-six of the pirates, who were sentenced to be hanged. The 
execution took place on Gravelly Point, also called Bull's Point, 
"within the flux and reflux of the sea", opposite the town of Newport, 
on the 19th of July, 1723. The bodies were buried on Goat Island. 
Only one of these men was a native of Rhode Island, all the others 
being foreigners and chiefly Englishmen.^ 

^The proceedings of the trial was published in Boston in a pamphlet. It was 



558 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

In the month of October, 1758, four other pirates were tried, 
condemned and executed at Newport. 

The war between Great Britain and Spain awakened anew the 
desire of King George's subjects to "annoy His Majesty's enemies", 
as there was a fair prospect of remunerating themselves for such ser- 
vice by the capture of valuable prizes. In 1739 the Rhode Island 
General Assembly authorized the governor to grant privateers' com- 
missions against Spain, "as he shall think needful and necessary, pur- 
suant to His Majesty's warrant". Furthermore, this body also passed 
a vote to lend to Godfrey IMalbone, John Brown, and George Wanton 
' ' so many of the Colony 's small arms, pistols, cutlasses and great shot, 
as they have occasion for, for fitting out their private men of war, 
upon their giving sufficient security to the General Treasurer to return 
as many and as good as they shall receive, and paying the necessary 
charges arising thereon, in one month's time". Steps were taken, soon 
after, to place the Colony on a war footing, by passing an act "to 
make necessary preparations for the defence of the Government". 
Fort George, at Newport, was put in repair; ten additional cannon 
were mounted ; a large quantity of ammunition was placed there ; and 
a company of soldiers, under Col. John Cranston, enlisted for its 
defence. Another detachment was enlisted for six months and sent 
to Block Island, where six great guns were mounted for its defence. 
Capt. Edward Sands and Nathaniel Littlefield were charged with the 
duties at the island. Watch houses were built on Brenton's Point, 
Scahuest Point, Jamestown, Point Judith, and Watch Hill. Such 
were the safeguards provided on land. To protect the Colony by 
water, a war sloop was ordered to be built, "in the best shape". 

But the active and restless spirit of Rhode Island was not satisfied 
with protecting themselves against the enemy and acting merely on the 
defensive. They determined, next, to act on the offensive ; and, in 
an act passed by the General Assembly, they expressed their desire 
"to distress and annoy the Spaniards in the most effectual manner". 
For this purpose it was determined to make an attempt upon "some 
of the most considerable of the Spanish settlements in the West 
Indies". Troops were next ordered to be raised and every inducement 
offered to such as would enlist. A bounty of £3 was to be given to 
each able-bodied man who enlisted, and exemption from all military 
service for three years after his return, except in cases of the greatest 
extremity. Transports were further to be provided, and the governor 
was authorized to issue his proclamation forthwith. The committee to 
provide vessels and provisions for the expedition were George Gould- 
ing, Peter Bours and Joseph Whipple. 

also reprinted in Bull's Memoirs of Rhode Idand. which appeared in the Rhode 
Island liepiihiicaii in 1832 to 1836; and again in the Newport Mercury for July, 
August and September, 1858. 



The Sea Force in War Time. 



559 



Col. 



John Cranston was appointed captain of the Colony's sloop, 
called the Tartar, for her first cruise. His instructions were to "detect 
any illegal traders and take any of the King of Spain's subjects or 
interest". He appears to have been ready for sea in the summer of 
the year 1740. It seems that more men had been enlisted than were 
required for the expedition against the Spaniards, of whom two 
hundred only were retained. The two captains commissioned for the 
expedition were Capt. Joseph Sheffield, and Capt. William Hopkins. 
Three colonels were ordered commissioned, but their names do not 
appear. As a compliment to the commissioned officers of the expedi- 
tion, they were invited to dine with the Court. In order that all wlio 
were connected with the expedition might be properly entertained, this 
body directed, in accordance with the custom of the time, "that the 
other officers and soldiers be treated by the Sheriff with liquors, to the 
value of fifteen pounds, at the charge of the Colony". The Tartar 
war sloop was not destined to remain long inactive. Information 
being brought to Newport that there was a French vessel on the coast 
engaged in illicit trade, the Tartar was ordered out in search of her. 
Captain Cranston was successful in his cruise; he captured the 
schooner, brought her into port, and she was condemned and the pro- 
ceeds of her sale distributed among her captors. 

An application upon the Colony for aid to the king now came 
from another quarter, although she had already been making prepara- 
tions for such a contingency. The British had, in the year 1741, made 
an attack upon Carthagena, where they were repulsed, in addition to 
which they met with great loss of men by yellow fever. With a view 
to recover their fortunes, another attempt was determined on by 
General Wentworth, commander of the land forces. On the 12th of 
August, 1741, Wentworth addressed a letter from his camp, on the 
island of Cuba, to Governor Ward of Rhode Island, which he sent by 
Capt. William Hopkins, requesting the Colony to raise troops for his 
aid, "either to fill the vacancies in the old corps and in the Marines, or 
to form another Battalion". But General Wentworth was not to be 
satisfied with having further levies of troops; he was out of money, 
had no way of supplying his recruiting officers with means, and re- 
quested Governor A-Vard to draw upon the paymaster-general in Eng- 
land for expenses incurred. He also desired Governor Ward to "take 
proper measures for transporting troops to Cuba", to support which 
charge he flattered himself "the respective Provinces wiU make a 
provision". This was, indeed, a modest demand; nevertheless. Gov- 
ernor Ward, by order of the General Assembly, issued his proclama- 
tion offering a bounty of £5 of the Old Tenor and a watch-coat to every 
enlisting soldier, in addition to the royal bounty of £2. 

Peter Bours, George Goulding, John Cranston, and Joseph 
Whipple were the committee to procure men to man the Colony 's sloop 



560 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

and provisions for the voyage. The sloop was ordered to make a 
voyage of three months after she had landed the transports; but this 
order was subsequently countermanded. 

The expedition organized by General AVentworth was intended to 
operate against Santiago, but it seems that after a reconnoissanee had 
been made of the works the plan was abandoned, to the disgrace of the 
British commanders. Rhode Island, for the aid she furnished for this 
expedition, subjected herself to an expense of £5,868, 5s. and 8d., 
which sum was reported by the committee to which the accounts of 
the expedition were exhibited. 

It would appear that the Colony had privateers out at this time, 
although no mention of them is made in the records beyond the au- 
thority given the governor to commission them. In one instance the 
Assembly voted to pay the cost of the board of Francis Lorenzo, cap- 
tain of a Spanish privateer, "which had been brought in by Captain 
Norton in his privateer sloop, the Revenge". At another time the 
passage home of Spanish officers who had been brought into the Colony 
were ordered to be paid; and again we find, in 1744, the number of 
Spanish prisoners brought in by our privateers were so numerous that 
an act was passed to regulate their maintenance, allowing each one 
fifteen shillings each week, and making provision for their return. 

The attention of the Colony Avas now turned in another direction 
for the purpose of operating against the French possessions at the 
north, as will appear from the following letter from Governor Shirley, 
of Massachusetts : 

"Boston, Jan 29, 1744-45. 

"Sir : — Though I doubt not that the interest of the common cause 
of New England will sufficiently animate your Government to exert 
themselves vigorously in the intended expedition against Louisburg, 
yet I beg leave to add that the exposed situation of your Colony, by 
sea, and the resentment of the enemy against it, on account of the 
activity of your Privateers, make it probable that you may have a sud- 
den visit from the French, this summer, if Cape Breton is not reduced. 

"The gentlemen who will deliver you this, will apprise your 
Honor how essential it is, towards our proceeding in this important 
affair, that Ave should have a naval force before Louisburg, by the 
middle of March, at the farthest, to cut off the enemy's provision- 
vessels, and intercept Mr. Davison, Avho is expected with recruits for 
that garrison ; which latter event must be so killing a blow to the 
people of the town and garrison, that it Avould not fail of being de- 
cisive ; and they will also let you knoAv what this Government has done, 
and what applications I have made toAvards proAdding such a naval 
force. I hope, therefore, you will not fail to exert yourself in this 
respect. They Avill further inform you hoAv necessary it is that we 
should have a proper train of artillery, which should be from pieces 
of eighteen pound shot, to twenty-four pound, of Avhich sort we have 



The Sea Force in War Time. 561 

not sufficient in onr castle ; and I therefore hope you will contribute 
your quota in this respect. 

"I doubt not an united force, vigorously exerted on this occasion 
m conjunction with His Majesty's other neighboring Colonies will 
meet with success, which I hope will be the event of this expedition 
and am, Sir, ' 

"Your Honor's most obedient servant, W. Shirley. 

"To the Hon. Governor Greene." 

The General Assembly of Rhode Island promptly complied with 
the call from Governor Shirley by passing an act, at their June ses- 
sion, for raising seamen and marines to serve on board the ship 
Vigilant, wnich "Peter Warren, Esq., Commodore of His Majesty's 
fleet at Cape Breton, had taken from the French". Tavo hundred 
able-bodied seamen were ordered to be enlisted, to whom a bounty of 
£17 Old Tenor was to be paid by the Colony. For the more effectual 
securing of these men it was ordered that no ferryman, boatman, or 
other person should transport any seaman from off Rhode Island or 
Conanicut during a certain period, under a penalty of £20, unless it 
was to land the latter at Newport. The soldiers stationed at Fort 
George were directed to stop all sloops, boats, and canoes from going 
out of the harbor of Newport without a special license from the Gen- 
eral Assembly. Not content with these efforts to secure men, the 
governor issued his warrant to impress forty seamen at once. One- 
half the men required were obtained Avithin six days and sent to 
Boston to embark for Cape Breton. 

The prompt measures of Governor Wanton gave great satisfac- 
tion, and Governor Shirley issued a proclamation placing these levies 
on the same footing with other seamen in the fleet. 

A brigantine called the Success, belonging to Ellery and Tilling- 
hast, was chartered to transport the three companies of soldiers Avhich 
had been ordered to be raised. The required seamen were undoubt- 
edly raised, as provision was made for paying bounties to them. 
Massachusetts raised four hundred and Connecticut two hundred men 
for the Cape Breton force. 

At this time there seem to have been many French and Spanish 
war prisoners in Newport and Providence, as commissioners of each 
place were appointed and provisions made for their keeping. In Avhat 
way these men were taken does not appear, but doubtless by the 
privateers from those tOAvns. The expenses incurred by the Colony, 
with copies of all the acts, votes, and proceedings, relative to the Cape 
Breton expedition, were ordered to be made and sent to the agent of 
the Coloiiv in London. 

On tlie 16th of June, after a siege of forty-nine days, the fortress 
of Louisburg capitulated. At this time eleven ships of war had 
36-1 



.'562 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

assembled and arrangements were in progress for storming the work. 
The besiegers had suffered so much from colds and dysentery that at 
one time 1,500 men were unfit for duty. The news of the fall of Louis- 
burg reached Boston on the 3d of July and caused great rejoicing, for 
the whole of the land forces were from New England Colonies and 
consisted of undisciplined mechanics, farmers, and fishermen. 

The last troops raised in Rhode Island did not, of course, reach 
Louisburg until after its fall; nevertheless they were required to re- 
main there during the following winter. During the siege of Louis- 
burg the Rhode Island sloop Tartar,^ Captain Fones, was absent to 
intercept a large party of French and Indians who were on their way 
to the relief of the fortress. The vessels of the enemy were en- 
countered by Captain Fones, and after an engagement were put to 
flight. A letter describing the engagement was written to Governor 
Wanton by Captain Fones, dated June 26, 1745. 

For the brilliant exploit of the taking of Louisburg, an affair 
wholly projected in New England and effected by her troops. General 
Pepperell was created a baronet, the first instance in which this honor 
was conferred upon an American colonist. Warren, who commanded 
the fleet, was promoted admiral, and Governor Shirley, who originated 
and planned the expedition, was made a colonel. 

Rhode Island was awarded less credit for her part in the expedi- 
tion than she deserved. In the first place, the volunteers raised by 
Colonel Malbone being paid by Massachusetts, were reckoned as her 
troops ; while the second levy of three companies, being incorporated 
in a Connecticut regiment under General Wolcott, was equally lost 
sight of in the official reports. 

A garrison of 4,000 men, with a fleet of ten large and many 
smaller vessels of war, were required to garrison and defend Louis- 
burg against probable attempts for its recapture. In accordance with 
this determination Commodore Warren addressed the following letter 
to Governor Wanton. 

"SuPERBE, IN Louisburg Harbor, 24th June, 1745. 
"Sir: — I now have the pleasure to acquaint you that we are in 
quiet possession of the town and garrison of Louisburg, and the terri- 
tories thereunto belonging ; and that it is my duty to apply to you and 
the different Governors on the Continent, for such provisions and 
men as I may want ; and I never had more occasion for your assistance 
than at x)resent, in order to keep possession of a garrison that is a key 
to all the French settlements upon the Continent, and of which pos- 
session every Colony will feel the good effects. I therefore hope you 

^ Among the Warner Papers so called No. xl703 is a document bearing the 
title, "Signals to be observed by the Colony's Sloop Tartar and the transports 
under her charge on the voyage to Annapolis Royal and back again". It is 
without date. 



The Sea Force in War Time. 563 

will send, with all speed, your quota of men, armed and victualled for 
at least seven or eight months, to remain here, for the support of this 
garrison, till His Majesty's pleasure is known; till which time I shall 
continue here. 

"I make this application to all your neighboring Governors, and 
have begged them to recommend the consideration of my request to 
their different Legislatures, who can't, in any manner, give greater 
proofs of their loyalty to His Majesty, their love of their country, and 
their care of posterity, than by assisting me with the means of keeping 
possession, till His Majesty can make provisions for it, of a Oari-ison 
and a Colony, that, in its consequence, will be tlie means of extii-pating 
so dangerous an enemy as the French are, out of the Continent! 

. I am. Sir, your most obedient servant, P. Warren. 

' ' To the Governor of Rhode Island. ' ' 

Under the same date Governor Shiiley wrote to Governor Wanton, 
stating that the siege of Louisburg had quite exhausted the magazines 
of powder, and, as it was uncertain what further demands there might 
be for it, he desired that an embargo might be laid upon all the powder 
lying in the stores and magazines so as to secure it at the market price 
in case it should be wanted. On the 3d of July he again wrote Gov- 
ernor W^anton at great length on the surrender of Louisburg, urging 
him in the strongest terms to send men, ammunition, and provisions 
"for the garrisoning and provisioning the place, till His Majesty shall 
order troops from Great Britain. He apprehends this to be the most 
critical juncture for securing it from the attempts of the enemy to re- 
capture it, as it cannot be doubted that the French King will send a 
strong force to reduce it". Governor Shirley therefore hopes that the 
General Assembly of Rhode Island will, in duty to his majesty and in 
regard to the common interests, make provision at once to supply the 
soldiers, ammunition, and provisions required. 

On the 25th of July Commander Warren wrote Governor Wanton 
from Louisburg, informing him that iwo of his squadron had taken a 
rich India ship, and proposed to sell her cargo there if the merchants 
will come from Rhode Island to purchase it. At the same time he sent 
an advertisement to be printed and distributed announcing the sale. 

To the several urgent calls for men, provisions, ammunition, 
and shipping which had been made upon the Colony by order of the 
king, as well as by Admiral Warren, Sir AVilliam Pepperell and Gov- 
ernor Shirley, Governor Wanton replied as follows : 

"Newport, August 23, 1745. 
"Sir: — Since my last to you, I have had the opportunity of lay- 
ing before the General Assembly of this Colony your letters, with a 
copy of His Majesty's orders, signified by His Grace, the Duke of 
Newcastle, the respective Governors of the Colonies in North America, 



564 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

to assist you with men, provisions, and shipping, for the relief of any 
of His Majesty's settlements, or from making any attempts on those of 
the enemy. 

"And I am directed by them to assure you that none of His 
Majesty's subjects more sincerely rejoice at the glorious success of His 
Majesty's arms, in the reduction of a place of such vast importance to 
his obedience than this Colony; and that none of His Majesty's 
provinces and Colonies will be more ready than this to give you their 
utmost assistance in making any attempts against His Majesty's 
enemies, or in the securing and defending this most important acquisi- 
tion ; but, as this Colony is very small, and by its situation very much 
exposed to the attacks of the enemy by sea, and great numbers of our 
men employed on board of our Privateers to distress the enemy in 
their trade and navigation, and as they have already been at very 
great expense in keeping their only vessel of war at Cape Breton, ever 
since the beginning of this expedition, and in sending and victualling 
three companies of soldiers to assist in defending Louisburg ; and also 
in allowing a large bounty to a number of seamen to enlist and serve 
in the squadron under your command ; they hope these will be looked 
upon as their full quota, and as sufficient demonstrations of their duty 
and loyalty to His ]\Iajesty. 

"I am, Sir, further directed to assure you, that if His Majesty's 
service should require our three Companies to remain at Louisburg, 
all winter, in the pay of this Colony, that all due care will be taken by 
this Government, to send them in season, provisions, and all neces- 
saries for their subsistence. 

' ' The General Assembly thank you for the favor and respect you 
have shown to Captain Fones, the Commander of our Colony's sloop, 
Tartar; and they hope you'll be so good as to discharge her as soon as 
the nature of His IMajesty's service will admit of it, she being the only 
vessel of war that we have for the protection of the trade and naviga- 
tion of this Colony. 

"Your known generosity leaves us no room to doubt that you will 
do justice to this Colonj^ in letting His Majesty know what assistance 
Ave have given in this expedition ; and we the rather request this favor 
of you. Sir, because we have reason to believe that some of our neigh- 
bors have no great inclination to represent our conduct in the best 
light. 

"We heartily congratulate you, Sir, on the success of His 
Majesty's ships under your command, in taking so many rich and 
valuable prizes. May zeal and fidelity in His Majesty's service be 
always thus rewarded; and may success attend you in all your at- 
tempts, until your name becomes a terror to a haughty and insolent 
enemy. 

"I heartily wish you health, and am, with best regards, in behalf 
of the General Assembly, Sir, yours, Gideon Wanton. 

"To the Honorable Commodore Warren. 



The Sea Force in AA'ar Time. 505 

^- IT* S.-As the General Assembly have ordered the Brigantine 
which transported our soldiers to Louisbourg, to return home immedi- 
ately, unless any directions should be come from His Majesty to dis- 
miss our soldiers in a short time, they have directed me to desire you'd 
be pleased to give her a pass to depart". 

]\Iassachusetts had strained herself to the very utmost in the 
Louisburg expedition, which was originated, planned, and successfully 
carried out by her, of which fact Governor Phipps wrote Governor 
Wanton. Admiral AVarren also, wrote the governor of the various 
advantages accruing from the successful expedition. Governor 
Phipps speaks of a second East Indiaman with a rich cargo which had 
been captured from the French, saying that it is judged that the value 
of the captures made on the coast by His IMajesty's ships amounts to 
one million pounds, none of which would have fallen into their hands 
if the Louisburg expedition had not been successful. 

Under date of September 13 Sir William Pepperell wrot«^ Gov- 
ernor Wanton that he would retain the three companies of Rhode 
Island troops, and desired him "to make the speediest provision for 
them during the approaching Mdnter, of provisions, good bedding and 
warm clothing, fit for soldiers, in the most inclement climate". He 
also apprised the governor that there was a squadron of French men- 
of-war on the coast. 

It appears that representations had been made to the ministry by 
persons in Massachusetts that Eliode Island had not performed her 
part in the Louisburg expedition, a charge which gave great uneasi- 
ness to the governor and the people, and caused Governor Wanton to 
write Richard Partridge, the Colony's agent in London, in order that 
he might vindicate the Colony, "which had always distinguished itself 
by joining with readiness and zeal in all expeditions ordered by the 
Crown". He says that when Massachusetts first applied for assist- 
ance the Colony had expended all its funds to defray the unfoi-tunate 
expedition against Carthagena ; that the tax for putting the Colony in 
a state of defense was unpaid ; the people burdened with the expense 
of defending our charter privileges and for carrying on the suit about 
the boundary ; that the Colony was then drained of men to an uncom- 
mon degree, and that of two hundred and fifty sent away in the West 
India expedition, not twenty had returned. Furthermore, that they 
had then eight or ten well-manned privateers cruising, which greatly 
embarrassed them in raising seamen. But, notwithstanding all these, 
Rhode Island had fuUy manned and sent out the sloop Tartar and 
permitted Massachusetts to raise men in the Colony, besides voting a 
bounty of forty shillings to every man who enlisted. 

The Colony's sloop, Tartar, which often has been mentioned, 
mounted fourteen carriage and twelve swivel guns. She conveyed the 
Connecticut troops and proved of great service in the expedition. 



566 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Besides this, it is stated that the inhabitants of Newport subscribed 
£7,000 towards the pay of a privateer manned and partly owned there. 

"This," says Governor Wanton, "is the assistance we have given, 
which was really the utmost we were able to give, the Ciolony never 
liaving exerted itself with more zeal and vigor on any account ; and it 
ought to be observed that no other of the remaining Colonies, except 
Connecticut and New Hampshire, could be induced, at the first, to give 
any assistance at all; nor, afterwards, all of them together, to give so 
much and such effectual assistance as this little Colony cheerfully 
afforded, at the hazard of leaving our sea-coast unguarded, and our 
navigation exposed to the enemy's privateers." He further sends 
letters from General Pepperell and Admiral Warren, acknowledging 
the aid they had received from Rhode Island in the expedition. 

Mr. Partridge, although a Quaker, stood manfully forward in 
defending Rhode Island against the aspersions of Massachusetts, by 
laying before the secretary for the colonies the facts contained in Gov- 
ernor Wanton's letter. In his reply he says he made known the loy- 
alty and obedience of the people of Rhode island to the crown and 
called the secretary's attention to the promptness which they had ex- 
hibited in embarking in every expedition ordered by Great Britain 
and in furnishing their quotas of troops; furthermore, that "in the 
wars by sea, the Privateers of Rhode Island did more execution against 
the enemy's Privateers that infested their coasts, than all the ships of 
the Massachusetts, or, indeed, of all the Colonies in those parts put 
together." He adds, "I wish thou couldst get a few lines from Com- 
modore Warren and send me in justification of the Colony, to take off 
the edge of those assertions [of ]\Iassachusetts] , which I believe have 
been spread by Agent Shelby here." The governor profited by the 
suggestion of Agent Partridge, and the General Assembly, at its Octo- 
ber session, 1745, passed a resolution appointing Peter Bours a com- 
mittee to wait upon the Hon. Roger Wolcott, deputy-governor of 
Connecticut, and major-general of the forces that reduced Cape 
Breton, and request of him a certificate of what he knew respecting 
the conduct of this Colony in the expedition against Cape Breton and 
Louisburg. Commodore Warren was probably not accessible ; and, if 
he was. General Wolcott had more direct intercourse with the Rhode 
Island troops than he. General Wolcott promptly complied with the 
request of the General Assembly by supplying the certificate required, 
in which he recapitulated the important services rendered by Rhode 
Island. This, together with the letters of Admiral Warren, Sir William 
Pepperell, and others; the various acts of the Assembly for raising 
troops, furnishing vessels, provisions, ammunition, etc., together with 
a general account of all the expenses which had been incurred by the 
Colony, were ordered to be procured and forwarded to the home gov- 
ernment without delay. 



The Sea Force in War Time. 56? 

At the close of the year 1745 a great calamity befel the to^Ti of 
Newport, which had ever been active in fitting out privateers ao-ainst 
the enemy. Two large and costly vessels of this kind had just" been 
completed at Newport, where they were owned and manned althouc^h 
Colonel Malbone was the cnief owner. Each of these privateers was 
manned with over one hundred men and mounted twenty-two guns ■ 
most of the men were residents of Newport and had families there' 
The ships set sail the day before Christmas at the beginning of a vio- 
lent snow storm, bound for the Spanish main. The gale increased to 
a hurricane and continued two days. The ships Avere never heard of 
after and it is believed they foundered at sea with all on board. "By 
this fearful disaster." says Arnold, "more than four hundred lives 
were lost, and nearly two hundred wives in NcAvport were made 
widows. ' ' 

In the spring of the following year the Duke of Newcastle 
addressed a letter to Governor Wanton, informing him that two regi- 
ments would at once be sent to Louisburg to support its garrison ; that 
Admiral Warren was about to retire, to be succeeded by Admiral 
Knowles, and that if the latter should have occasion to apply to him 
"for assistance, either by raising any number of men to reinforce the 
garrison, or in any other manner, that shall be thought proper", he 
shall use his utmost endeavors to furnish him with it. 

It is almost impossible to look back to that far time, when the 
population of the Colony was so limited in number; when her re- 
sources consisted of the meagre products of the soil, with no manu- 
factures and a limited commerce, and find her so frequently called 
upon to aid her mother country in the many wars of the period. 
Whether in a war with Spaniards, it was necessary to send men to the 
West Indies ; to reduce the Indians on the frontiers of New England. 
New York and Pennsylvania; to stop the progress of the French at 
the distant posts of Niagara and Oswego; to wrest from them the 
colony of Cape Breton ; or, finally, to embark in the grander enterprise 
of reducing Canada, our little Colony seems to have been called on 
alike for troops, seamen, provisions, ammunition, and ships. AVith 
four times the population and a hundred times more wealth, we should 
deem such demands large, even in our day: but it must be remem- 
bered that at the period in question Rhode Island was the most power- 
ful at sea of either of the English colonies in America, and held a 
comparatively high rank among the few colonies from which the 
thirty-four States of the Union have sprung. 

In the spring of 1746 the war sloop Tartar had returned from 
Louisburg, when she was refitted, manned, and sent off on a cruise as 
far east as Martha 's Vineyard and as far west as Sandy Hook. At the 
same time, in consequence of applications from the governors ot the 
Provinces of New York and Massachusetts, the General Assembly 



568 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

passed an act to appoint commissioners to confer with those of the 
northern Colonies to provide for mutual defense against the common 
enemy. The men appointed on this committee were Abraham Red- 
wood, Peter Bours, and Stephen Hopkins. 

A month later than the letter before mentioned, on the 9th of 
April, 1746, another letter was received from the Duke of Newcastle, 
conveying the important information that the government, flushed 
with its success at Louisburg, had determined upon a great expedition 
for the reduction of Canada. Five battalions of troops, under com- 
mand of General St. Clair, were to be transported, with a convoy of 
men-of-war, to Louisburg, where they were to be joined by two regi- 
ments from Gibraltar and such others as shall be levied in North 
America. 

The Rhode Island troops suffered greatly during the winter they 
remained at Louisburg. One of the companies lost its captain and 
half its men, which rendered it necessary to consolidate the remainder 
into tAvo companies. The General Assembly therefore directed Gov- 
ernor Wanton to write General Pepperell and Admiral Warren re- 
questing them to discharge all the Rhode Island troops, agreeable to 
their promise, except such as had enlisted in the king's service, and to 
send them back with their arms, together with all other property with 
them that belonged to the Colony. At the same time, and before 
Warren and Pepperell had received Governor Greene's letter, they 
wrote him that they "should keep their faith with the old troops" by 
sending them home ; but nevertheless they still enjoined him to en- 
courage new enlistments among them, as well as to raise and forward 
as soon as possible the new levies called for. 

The Tartar, manned with ninety men, exclusive of officers, was 
again sent to sea to guard the coasts ; at the same time a letter was 
written to the governor of Connecticut, requesting that their Colony 
sloop might join the Tartar in her cruise. 

The war fever had by this time extended itself to the other 
Colonies and the governors of New York and Massachusetts requested 
Rhode Island to appoint commissioners to meet those of the other 
Colonies, to consider measures for their ' ' mutual security, defense, and 
conduct during the present war". 

Accordingly William Greene, who had just been elected governor 
of Rhode Island, convened the General Assembly at Newport in June, 
1746, and an act was passed in conformity with the wishes of his 
majesty, made known through the Duke of Newcastle, providing for 
raising forces for the proposed reduction of Canada. Three com- 
panies of one hundred men each were ordered to be raised forthwith, 
and a committee consisting of John Cranston, Abraham Redwood, 
Jonathan Nichols, and George Wanton was appointed to procure the 
necessary stores and transports to convey the troops to Louisburg or 



The Sea Force in War Time. oG9 

(Quebec. As an encouragement for enlistments a bounty of fifty 
pounds m bills of public credit and a suit of clothes were offered to 
each soldier. A bounty of two hundred pounds in addition to their 
wages was offered to pilots who were acquainted with the navigation 
of the St. Lawrence. The Tartar was recalled from her cruise and 
ordered to accompany the expedition; an appropriation of £11,250 
was made in a new issue of Bills of Credit to defray the expenses to 
be thus incurred. 

While these events were in progress the Colony became involved 
in a controversy with the governor of Havana regarding the selling 
into slavery of twenty-two Spaniards who had been captured by the 
Rhode Island privateers, Defiance and the Duke of Marlboro, com- 
manded by Capts. John Dennis and Robert Morris. After proper 
investigation the General Assembly made adequate reparation for the 
offense by seeking out the captured Spaniards and ordering them sent 
to Cuba under a flag of truce. 

The government authorities of this Colony were active in their 
efforts to aid the proposed expedition to Canada; enlistments were 
hastened, transports were ordered to be got in readiness, and the 
sheriff of Newport was empowered to impress seamen for manning the 
vessels. The whole force ready on July first was to be concentrated 
at Newport. While these preparations were in progress urgent letters 
were received from Admiral Warren and Governor Shirley for both 
seamen and soldiers, from the fact it would appear that the au- 
thorities assumed that this Colony was a nursery for military men 
which could never be exhausted. Admiral Warren wrote, "I am of 
opinion that all seamen should be engaged that you can possibly meet 
with, to go in the armed vessels of each Colony; and that no time be 
lost, as the season will soon render it impracticable to make the at- 
tempt this year". Governor Shirley, after urging upon Governor 
Greene the necessity of completing the levies, said, "this will, in all 
probability, be the only favorable opportunity of attempting to drive 
off the French from the northern part of this continent", etc. Besides 
the quota of troops required from this Colony, Shirley and Warren 
requested that it should pro\ade two brigs or scows, with eighty men 
and ten guns each, and that the whole force should be provisioned for 
ten months. To the various letters from Admiral Warren, Governor 
Greene wrote the following reply by order of the Assembly : 

"Providence, July , 1746. 

"Sir: -I acknowledge the favor of yours, upon your arrival in 
Boston, and would beg leave to observe to you, that, however small the 
quota of men proposed by Rhode Island may seem, when the votes ot 
the several Governments for raising men are compared, yet, it tne 
smallness of this Government be considered, and its present circum- 



570 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

stances, the quota of men voted must be looked as many as, in reason, 
could be expected from this small Colony. 

"Upon a fair and exact computation, the number of men in the 
Colony of Rhode Island, proper for bearing arms, cannot be computed 
to be more than three thousand ; which number must be greatly les- 
sened within these few months past by the number of vessels fitted out 
and cruising against His Majesty's enemies. 

"There being out of this Colon}^, and fitting out on that account, 
three ships of about twenty guns each ; one snow and four brigantines, 
of about sixteen guns each; and four sloops, of about twelve guns 
each; which are all manned from this place, and are actually out on 
their cruise, saving one brigantine and two sloops, now fitting out, and 
which, in this small Government, must necessarily greatly exhaust the 
number of men fit for His Majesty's service on the present occasion, 

"However, this Government considered the expedition intended 
for the reduction of Canada, as an undertaking of the utmost conse- 
quence to all His Majesty's Colonies in America; and that they might 
be aiding and assisting as far as the strength and circumstances of 
this small Government would admit, cheerfully ordered three hundred 
able-bodied soldiers to be raised and sent to join His Majesty's land 
forces; and one hundred seamen in the sloop Tartar, lately in His 
Majesty's service, at Louisbourg, to attend on the sea force. 

"As it has appeared by long and melancholy experience that the 
peace and welfare of His Majesty's subjects in North America can 
never be established as long as Canada subsists, it was with the 
greatest joy that His Majesty's subjects in this Colony received the 
news of his intentions to reduce it, and the appointment of Admiral 
Warren to have the chief command of the sea force, made the joy more 
universal ; and, as in this Government, it has been a means of raising 
the soldiers and sailors with the greater ease ; it is not doubted, but 
under the influence of Providence, will be of as happy consequence in 
the designed effect. 

"Whatever directions shall be communicated respecting the forces 
from this Government will be received with pleasure, and put in execu- 
tion with all possible expedition, by. Sir, 

' ' Your most obedient humble servant, William Greene. ' ' 

The transports before mentioned were procured and anchored off 
Goat Island and the three companies of troops sent on board ; one of 
these companies, commanded by Captain Sayer, was filled in Newport 
county; the second, Captain Rice, in Providence county; the third. 
Captain Cole, partly from each count}^ None of the inhabitants of 
Kent county was impressed, but for what reason does not appear. 

While these warlike preparations were in progress France was 
no less active and was quietly planning an expedition on a grand scale, 
having in view not only the recovery of her lost possessions, but the 
conquest of all of the British colonies in America. A fleet of sixty 



The Sea Force in War Time. 571 

sail with 15,000 men, and a land force of 8,000, under the Duke 
d 'Anvil le, were seen off our coast before the colonists were aware that 
such an expedition was contemplated, causing much consternation. 
At the request of Governor Shirley and Admiral Warren, then in 
Boston, Rhode Island's sloop Tartar, Captain Fones, was dispatched 
with the news to Admiral Lestock, who was then expected on the coast 
of Nova Scotia with an English fleet. Meanwhile the most active 
preparations were made by erecting new works on Goat Island, and 
otherwise providing for the defense of the Colony against the expected 
French fleet. But the fleet did not appear during that summer, and 
late in October Governor Greene received a letter from Governor 
Shirley and Admiral Warren thanking the Colony for the spirit it 
had shown "by so cheerfully promoting a service of so much impor- 
tance as the relief of Annapolis Royal, and the saving of it from fall- 
ing into the enemy's hands". The writers had also learned from 
French prisoners that the dreaded fleet had met with severe reverses ; 
a subsequent letter informed Governor Greene that the dreaded 
armada had been dispersed and disabled in a violent storm in the 
West Indies, that Admiral d'Anville was dead, and that the Canadian 
camp before Annapolis Royal had been broken up. At the same time 
misfortune attended the Rhode Island transports; overtaken by a 
violent storm, some of them were wrecked on Mt. Desert and half their 
men perished ; others suffered severely from the weather and disease ; 
a portion landed at Martha's Vineyard, whence they went to Boston. 
The expedition had thus proved a failure. 

But notwithstanding the failure of this sea expedition, it was 
determined to send a large body of colonial troops overland for the 
capture of the French post at Crown Point. Rhode Island was again 
called upon for troops, but owing to the lateness of the season, and 
being without transports or men in condition for the undertaking, the 
Colony took no part in it ; Connecticut also declined to furnish troops. 
A call came also from Governor Shirley for reinforcements to send to 
Nova Scotia to secure the conquests made there m the preceding year; 
this call was submitted to the General Assembly, but was declined for 
the reasons just mentioned. The cheering news soon reached the 
Colony that Parliament had made a grant of 800,000 pounds for pay- 
ing the charge of taking and keeping Cape Breton by the people of 
New England, and for raising forces for the desired Canadian expedi- 
tion. . 

Again in the following spring came urgent calls m letters trom 
the Duke of Newcastle upon the New England colonies to supply 
troops for maintenance of British power in the island of Cape Bretom 
Governor Shirley and Admiral Knowles reiterated the demands ot 
the king in letters to Governor AVanton. The Colony made bitter 
complaints at this time at the backwardness of the home government 



572 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

in repaying the heavy charges incurred in the expedition against 
Louisburg and the more recent expenses of sending troops and sup- 
plies to the relief of Annapolis Royal. A long correspondence took 
place on this subject between the governors of Rhode Island and of 
Massachusetts, which may be found in the Colonial Records. From 
Governor Wanton's letter to the Lords of the Treasury it is shown 
that the cost of raising three companies, arming them, furnishing sup- 
plies, transports, etc., for "the late expedition to Canada", £76,083 
lis. 4tZ., New England currency, or, reduced to sterling, £10,144 9s. 
6d. ; of this sum there was allowed only £7,504 4s. 4(Z. The treasury 
allowed also for the Cape Breton expedition £6,322, which was subse- 
quently reduced to £3,700 ; this was not paid until 1750, and then only 
after the most urgent calls. The Colony received also £7,507 for ex- 
penses of the campaign of 1746-7. 

By the treaty of peace signed at Aix-la-Chapelle on April 19, the 
conquests made by the New England troops reverted to the French, 
which caused great disappointment in the Colonies. 

The war sloop Tartar, anxious for another brush with the enemy, 
\vent to sea without orders. She soon fell in with a Spanish vessel, 
bearing a pretended flag of truce, which she captured and sent to 
Newport in charge of Lieutenant Vaughan, where her cargo, consist- 
ing of sugar, was discharged; this sugar was intended for one of the 
northern colonies. As there was supposed to be something illegal 
about this seizure, the matter was brought before the General Assem- 
bly and a committee reported that the sailing of Captain Holmes 
without orders was a flagrant misdemeanor; but it appears that it 
was without evil design and to keep his men from deserting, and the 
captain was not suspended. After this the Tartar, which had per- 
formed such effective service, was dismantled and her crew dis- 
charged. 

Complaints were made at about this time to the Lords Commis- 
sioners of the Admiralty that an iniquitous trade was going on be- 
tween Rhode Island Colony and the king's enemies under flags of 
truce. Inquiries were made which showed that during the previous 
year more than twenty vessels, commissioned as flags of truce by the 
Rhode Island government to carry prisoners of war to the West 
Indies, had in reality taken only a few prisoners; but, under their 
commissions, had carried cargoes of provisions to the French, and in 
return had brought back the produce of the French sugar planta- 
tions. 

Peace between France and England did not long continue. In 
1753 war began and the New England colonists were called upon to 
take up their share of the burden. Fort George was put in repair at 
a cost of £10,000 which was raised by a tax on the Colony. An order 
came to raise 3,000 men in New England, to be placed under command 



The Sea Force in War Time. 573 

oi Generals Shirley and Pepperell. The General Assembly Avas con- 
vened and promptly passed an act to raise four companies of one 
hundred men each, "to be employed on a secret expedition". Meas- 
ures were adopted, also, to prevent the exportation of provisions that 
might tind their way to the enemy. 

Preparations for the oncoming war were on a more extensive 
scale than the previous struggles. While it was the apparent purpose 
of the French to make conquests that would confine the English to a 
narrow strip of land along the Atlantic coast, the English determined, 
on the other hand, to secure control of the country from Nova Scotia 
to the Mississippi. Attack on the French was to be made at Quebec, 
]\Iontreal, Crown Point, Oswego, Niagara, and Fort Duquesne (on 
the site of Pittsburg). The campaign opened with Braddock's attack 
on Fort Du Quesne, Avhere he was signally defeated. At this time 
Governor Shirley, who was one of the most active and effective spirits 
of this war, saw an opportunity to carry out his cherished plan of 
striking the enemy in the interior. He wrote Governor Greene on 
February 24, 1755, that "the expedition in Nova Scotia and the 
schemes which occupy the attention of the French and a great part 
of their forces on the Ohio, afford a most favorable opportunity for 
the five Colonies of New England, and those of New York and the 
New Jerseys, to erect such a fort near Crown Point as may command 
the French fort there and curb the city of Montreal". An expedition 
against Crown Point became Shirley's leading measure, and it was 
organized and placed under command of Col. William Johnson, the 
most influential of the pioneers of the Mohawk valley in New York 
Province, and who had obtained almost unlimited confidence among 
the Iroquois Indians. As on former occasions, Rhode Island was 
called upon by both the king, through Secretary Robinson, and by 
Governor Shirley for its quota of troops and other war necessaries. 
The former intimates that "as there is a considerable number of for- 
eigners, particularly from Germany, in the Colony, who will be capa- 
ble and willing to bear arms upon this occasion", a portion of the de- 
sired recruits may be obtained from them. At the May session of the 
General Assembly an act was passed for raising four companies of 
troops of one hundred men each, to co-operate in Governor Shirley's 
plans, and another act was passed to emit £60,000 old tenor, in paper 
money, towards defraying the expenses of the expedition. 

The encroachments of the French was the Avatchword used by the 
ministry and their agents in America to rouse the Colonies to action, 
upon which subject Governor Shirley wrote Governor Greene a forci- 
ble letter explaining the situation. The four companies ordered to 
be raised by Rhode Island were placed under command of Col. 
Christopher Harris, the commissary being Christopher Champhn. 
Liberal pay was allowed in addition to a bounty of twenty pounds to 



574 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

such soldiers as were provided with a good firelock. While these prep- 
arations were in progress news was received of Braddock's defeat, 
causing great consternation in the Colonies, and renewed efforts were 
at once made to check the advance of the French. In August the As- 
sembly voted to raise three additional companies of fifty men each for 
the Crown Point expedition ; these were soon ready and were sent with 
dispatch to Albany to join Colonel Harris's command. An additional 
£20,000 were voted to be issued in Bills of Credit towards defraying 
the increased expenses of the expedition. Seven members of the As- 
sembly protested against raising the additional troops, as they were 
"unwilling to load their constituents with a burden which they 
thought exceeded their ability to bear". 

Fearing that vessels sailing for foreign ports might carry supplies 
to the French, six vessels lying in Newport harbor, laden with provi- 
sions for the West Indies and Africa, were embargoed and the Com- 
mittee of War was empowered by the Assembly to take from them for 
the use of the government so much as they deemed necessary for the 
troops. About the same time a letter was received from Governor 
Phipps, of Massachusetts, transmitting a communication from Ad- 
miral Boscawen relative to the state of the town and garrison at Louis- 
burg, which confirmed him in the opinion that the French had been 
supplied by the English colonies with provisions. These charges as 
far as they related to Rhode Island were investigated by a committee 
and found to be "absolutely without foundation". 

In September, after advices had been received from Major-Gen- 
eral Johnson to the effect that the French would bring into the field 
at Crown Point a larger force than that of the Colonies, an act was 
passed by the Assembly to raise still another two hundred men to re- 
inforce the English army. 

Before these latter troops reached the front the battle near Lake 
George had been fought and won by the English over the forces of 
Baron Dieskau, with a loss of about three hundred to the former, and 
thrice that number to the enemy. Johnson was wounded early in the 
battle, leaving General Lyman in command, and Baron Dieskau was 
mortally wounded and taken prisoner. Johnson was knighted for his 
services in this, the most important engagement yet fought between 
the French and English. The Rhode Island troops engaged in this 
campaign, or on their way to the field of operations, numbered seven 
hundred and fifty men, divided into eleven companies. To sustain so 
large a force required more means than the Colony could command, 
and the alternative was the issue of more paper money, to the amount 
of £60,000, which was known as Crown Point Bills. 

Although the war was active on land, there does not appear to 
have been such struggles at sea as in the former contests ; at least there 
is no record that privateering was carried on as extensively. The 



The Sea Force in War Time. 575 

people may not have been prepared; and, besides, the military re- 
sources of the Colony were so heavily taxed for the Crown Point 
expedition that the navy had not time to assume its former hijih stand- 
ing. The system of privateering was early resorted to in Europe, and 
the Channel ports were filled with prizes taken from the French. A 
vessel belonging to the Marquis de Lambertie, which had put into 
Newport in June, was seized and condemned by the Court of Ad- 
miralty and the marquis was imprisoned. He was afterwards sent to 
England, where he complained of his treatment in Rliode Island ; but 
the government made him no redress. 

In order that the English colonies might act in concert in their war 
measures, commissioners were appointed to meet General Shirley for 
consultation. Governor Hopkins and Stephen Updike were appointed 
on the part of Rhode Island. The act authorized them to "concert 
measures for subsisting the troops now in the field and for the cam- 
paign ; to agree upon the proportion or quota of troops to be furnished 
by each Colony", etc. The promptness with which this Colony had 
iicted in raising and sending forward troops for the Crown Point ex- 
pedition gave great satisfaction to the ministry. Secretary Robinson, 
in writing to Governor Hopkins under date of November 11, says: 

"I have received the King's command to express to you His 
INIajesty's sense of the great zeal and spirit which the Colony under 
your government has so strongly manifested, in so cheerfully and 
effectually promoting this necessary and important service. The 
King further orders 'that this letter be communicated to the Council 
and Assembly, that they be acquainted that His Majesty will take an 
early opportunity of laying the particulars of their meritorious con- 
duct, upon this great occasion, before Parliament' ", etc. 

Owing to the lateness of the season the reduction of Crown Point 
was abandoned by General Shirley and the larger part of the troops 
returned. Of the Rhode Island contingent one hundred and eighty- 
five were retained in the service, of which a part was to remain in the 
garrisons at Fort Edward and Fort William Henry, near Lake 
George ; the remainder were discharged While some of the Colonies 
lost confidence in their commander on account of his abandonment of 
the Crown Point assault, Rhode Island continued her preparations for 
another campaign through the winter. At its February session the 
Assembly voted to raise a regiment of five hundred men, exclusive of 
officers, to be divided into two companies, including those who had re- 
mained at Fort William Henry. Christopher Harris was appointed 
colonel and Christopher Champlm lieutenant-colonel. During the 
winter communication was kept up with the troops left at ^ort 
William Henry. Commander Gleason, in writing to Governor Hop- 
kins, says that Captain Whiting, of Rhode Island, is adjutant ol the 



576 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 

garrison and highly commends all the officers belonging to the Colony. 
The Assembly, in order to furnish the means for carrying on the war, 
passed an act to issue £8,000, equal in value to the lawful money of 
the Colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut; in silver their 
value was stated as six shillings and eight pence to the ounce. It was 
further enacted that all the money received from Great Britain for 
defraying the expenses of the war should be appropriated to sinking 
the paper issues called the Crown Point Bills, and after this, to sink- 
ing the £8,000 just ordered to be issued. Thus it appears that, while 
the Colony was ready to issue paper money to fill its treasury, it ever 
manifested the most earnest desire to redeem its issues. To rebuild 
Fort George, in New^port harbor, and place it in a state of defense, an 
additional £5,000 were appropriated. 

In March advices reached the Colony that General Shirley had 
been superseded as commander of the forces and that the Earl of 
Loudon was appointed in his place. The king, through his secretary, 
pressed the Colony in the strongest manner to "make early and 
etfectual provision for raising, and assisting His Majesty's Officers to 
raise sufficient men to recruit the several Regiments in North America 
up to their full establishments". As a further inducement for men 
to enlist, each was to be allowed a grant of two hundred acres of land, 
in either the Province of New York, Nova Scotia, or New Hampshire, 
at their own choice. The governor was directed to "acquaint the 
Assembly with His Majesty's great goodness in having recommended 
their case to Parliament, who have granted one hundred and fifteen 
thousand pounds to be distributed, in such proportion as the King 
shall think proper, to the four Provinces of New England and to those 
of New York and New Jersey ; and thereby enabled His Majesty, not 
only to manifest his sense of their past services, but, also, to encourage 
them, tor the future, to exert themselves in the service with spirit and 
vigor". It was gratifying to the colonists thus to know that their 
services had been appreciated ; and, not the less so, in finding that, in 
ordering a new regiment to be raised for the Crown Point expedition 
and in providing money for its support, they had anticipated the 
wishes of their sovereign. 

With the opening of spring a hundred additional soldiers were 
raised to reinforce the Rhode Island troops for an expedition against 
Crown Point. Our little Colony did not wait for orders from England 
to prepare for the war, nor did she need to be urged to furnish men, as 
was necessary with some of her sister Colonies. The General Assembly 
at once voted to raise troops for another campaign, and she came 
nearer filling her quota than any other Colony, as General Winslow 
wrote Governor Hopkins. The Colony was active in all directions for 
aiding in the prosecution of the war. Seamen were urgently called 
for by General Shirley for manning ships at Halifax, without whom, 



The Sea Force in War Time. 577 

he writes, it will be impossible for His Majesty's ships to protect the 
Colonies ; and adds that he has thus taken the liberty to call on Rhode 
Island for these men "by the knowledge of the ready assistance the 
Colony has always so laudably given His Majesty's forces on the like 
occasions". 

Sir Charles Lawrence soon afterward wrote Governor Hopkins 
that many of the French inhabitants of Nova Scotia, distributed 
among the different Colonies, had procured vessels and embarked on 
them in order to return by coasting from Colony to Colony. Sir 
Charles, believing that the retm-n of these people would endanger the 
security of the Province, urged upon Governor Hopkins the necessity 
of detaining any such vessels as might be in Rhode Island, or might 
attempt to pass through it. 

The news of the taking of Oswego by the French under the gallant 
Montcalm created great alarm in the Colonies and led to renewed 
effort to conquer and expel the enemy. Lord Loudon called upon 
Rhode Island for more troops, carriages, and ox teams to transport 
provisions. Soon after this disastrous event news arrived that the 
French army was advancing from Canada towards the English settle- 
ments. Massachusetts was about to raise six hundred men, in addi- 
tion to whom one thousand were ordered to be raised m the western 
part of the Province, all for the relief of the provincial forces then 
engaged in the Crown Point expedition. The General Assembly of 
Rhode Island was called together and passed an act for raising four 
hundred men, to be sent on to Albany as a further reinforcement of 
the army. 

While this activity prevailed in prosecuting measures for re- 
pelling the enemy by land, the same spirit of enterprise which existed 
in former wars was awakened to maintain superiority at sea. Many 
privateers were fitted out which scoured the coast and extended their 
cruising ground to the West Indies. One of these, the Foy, of eighteen 
guns, with a crew of one hundred and eighty men, commanded by 
Captain Dennis, sailed for the Spanish main and was never afterward 
heard of. 

To prevent the French from getting a supply of provisions from 
the Colonies an act was passed, prohibiting the exportation of pro- 
visions from any place within the Colony to any Dutch or neutral 
ports. This act further provided that if any master or owner of any 
vessel should "willingly suffer any collusive capture to^be made of his 
cargo, he should forfeit all his real and personal estate". 

In order to agree upon a plan for actively prosecuting the war, 
the Earl of Loudon addressed a letter to the Colony requesting it to 
send commissioners to meet others at Boston; James Honeyman and 
George Bourn were accordingly appointed, with instructions to lay 



578 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

before the earl the condition of the Colony with reference to its fortifi- 
cations, cannon, and military stores, together with a statement of its 
means of carrying on the war. They also passed an act for building 
an armed vessel to guard the coast, and for raising and paying four 
hundred and fifty troops for the ensuing campaign. Samuel Angell 
was appointed to the command of this regiment. 

On the 4th of February, 1757, William Pitt, then secretary of 
state, wrote Governor Hopkins: "The King, having nothing more 
at heart than the preservation of his good subjects and colonies of 
North America, has come to the resolution of acting wnth the greatest 
vigor in those parts, in the ensuing campaign ; and all necessary 
preparations are making for sending a considerable reinforcement of 
troops, together with a strong squadron of ships, for the purpose, and 
in order to act offensively against the French". Secretary Pitt urged 
the immediate calling together of the Assembly that they might order 
the raising of troops for Loudon's army. A fortnight later advices 
were received from Pitt that Rear Admiral Holbourne had been placed 
in command of the squadron and that if the Colony desired any as- 
sistance, application might be made to that officer. The Colony was 
directed to employ vessels to communicate with the squadron and to 
furnish the admiral with any information that could be obtained rela- 
tive to the movements of the enemy. Soon afterward Lord Loudon 
communicated with Governor Hopkins, from New York, recommend- 
ing the Colony to make vigorous preparations for offensi\'e operations, 
and advising that an embargo be laid on the several ports in the 
Colony, without which he would be unable to carry out his plans. He 
also desired that the governor would furnish a full account of all the 
vessels in port, with the view of employing them as transports. The 
season having now advanced sufficiently for active operations. Lord 
Loudon directed that the Rhode Island forces, consisting of five com- 
panies, under Capt. Samuel Angell, should be sent by water with 
expedition and quartered at Albany. 

The embargo laid by order of Lord Loudon in the northern 
colonies gave great dissatisfaction and was soon afterward removed 
as far as shipments of corn and other grain were concerned to Great 
Britain and Ireland, owing to the failure of crops in those countries. 
Ine Earl of Loudon, who was now about to relinquish command of 
the northern army, called upon Rhode Island to send one hundred and 
fifty men as a reinforcement to Major-General Webb, who was in 
command of the colonial forces at and near Albany, a request that 
was promptly complied with. 

The many privateers which had been fitted out in the Colonies, as 
usual in time of war, now gave much trouble on account of their inter- 
ference with the commerce of nations with which Great Britain was 
at peace. The Earl of Holderness, now secretary of state, addressed 



The Sea Force in War Time. 579 

a letter to the governor of Rhode Island, complaining in the strongest 
terms ot 'the piratical behavior of several privateers, fitted out in 
North America, against the Spaniards, in the West Indies" with 
which nation Great Britain was at peace. His lordship particularly 
referred to the Peggy, Hadden, master, of New York, and to a pri- 
vateer from Halifax, which vessels had been guilty of acts against the 
Spaniards, "not only contrary to all humanity and good faith, but to 
the general instructions given to privateers". ^ The governor of Rhode 
Island was directed to detain these vessels in case they should put into 
Newport. He was further instructed with reference to any future 
commissions given by him to privateers, as well as to all privateers 
from other Colonies which might come into the ports of the Colony. 

A complaint of a more serious character against a privateer com- 
missioned by Rhode Island, commanded by Isaac Hopkins, was made 
to the governor by Jan de Wendt, governor of the Island of St. Eusta- 
tius, in the M^est Indies, belonging to the Dutch. In his letter the 
Dutch governor states that Captain Hopkins, in a private brigantine- 
of-war, seized and carried off a ship with a valuable cargo belonging 
to gentlemen of that island, subjects of the States of Holland. That 
he, the said Hopkins, aided by one Richards, of Antigua, took posses- 
sion of her "in sight of an English port, into which they might have 
carried her, but that, finding her papers and proceedings, regular, and 
despairing of success in that port, carried her away to Auguilla, 
twenty leagues distant, in hopes of taking some advantage from the 
inexperience of persons in trust there, in regard to the laws". The 
judge here, it seems, refused to libel the ship without first sending to 
Antigua for the advice of the consul. Upon this they pretended to 
send to Antigua and in the mean time advised the captain of the 
■captured vessel to go to St. Eustatius to advise with the owners there. 
This, in the belief of the governor, was but a concerted scheme to 
enable the captors the more easily to run away with the vessel 
and to prevent the owners from pursuing and retaking her. Under 
these circumstances De AVendt had granted a flag of truce to Captain 
Bappel, master and part owner of the Dutch vessel, to proceed to 
Rhode Island and demand the restoration of the ship and cargo. He 
also called upon the governor of Rhode Island to "protect Bappel and 
aid him in the recovery of the damages he had sustained" from the 
privateer or their sureties. But the complaint of the worthy Dutch 
governor against the Colony did not end here, for he adds that he 
shall take the opportunity thus afforded to communicate with the 
governor to acquaint him with the cruel treatment he had received 
from a privateer from Rhode Island, whereof Nathaniel Sweeting was 
commander, in having a vessel taken and carried into New Providence. 
The cargo, he further asserts, though his own property, had been con- 
demned as French, without having any other evidence for it, as 



580 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

appeared by the statement of the case sent him by the judge's au- 
thority, than it being consigned to a Frenchman. Furthermore, he 
states that 4,950 pieces of eight ($4,950) in cash, the property of the 
owner, Mr. Neuville, a Dutch merchant in Amsterdam, were taken. 
"Such proceedings as these", concludes De Wendt, "against neutral 
powers, upon a legal trade, will not bring honor on the English Gov- 
ernment ; and when they are properly represented, as they shall be, 
and come to appear before higher powers, will, no doubt, meet with 
their just resentment ; and the owners of that privateer may rely upon 
it, I will never give the point up, till I have justice done me". 

It appears that the commanders of privateers and masters of 
other vessels were in the habit of taking away slaves from the Colony 
without the consent of their owners, which had occasioned both in- 
convenience and loss to them. In consequence of this an act of the 
Assembly was passed, imposing a penalty of £500 upon any one who 
should knowingly carry off a slave. Owners of slaves were also au- 
thorized to go on board privateers or other vessels and search for their 
missing slaves, opposition to which by the masters rendered them liable 
in the same penalty as though they had carried them off. 

It will be remembered that OsAvego was taken by Montcalm in 
1756, but the records do not mention what troops or other men were 
captured by the French. By a letter from Governor Pownall, of 
Massachusetts, to Governor Greene, August 4, 1757, it appears that 
among the prisoners were a number of shipwrights and other artificers 
sent from Rhode Island and employed by General Shirley at that 
place. These men were taken to Quebec and sent thence to England in 
a cartel ship. Governor Pownall writes: "Upon application to the 
Lords of the Admiralty, in behalf of these poor people, their Lord- 
ships, in consideration of their sufferings, were pleased to direct that 
they should be borne on board His Majesty's ships and take their 
passage therein to their own country. They are recommended to me. 
I cannot but esteem it my duty to do everything in my power to assist 
people who have deserved so well of their country and suff'ered in its 
service. I have, therefore, advanced them subsistence to carry them 
to their respective homes. 

' ' It were impertinent in me to recommend those who belong to the 
Colony of Rhode Island to your Honor's care and protection. 

"I cannot but presume, from the justice of their employers, that 
there will be no need to seek your Honor's assistance in helping them 
to their pay and other dues, which they claim from those who engaged 
them in the service". 

The names of the Rhode Island prisoners thus restored were John 
Tarbox, Mat. Thompson, Robert Hart, Thomas Goddard, Jos. Peter- 
son, Rufus Church, Samuel Mott, and Edward Channel. A report, 
made by a committee of the Assembly ten years later, to whom was 



The Sea Force in War Time. 58i 

referred the claims of these men, contains their names and a statement 
of the period for which wages were due them. Their periods of ser- 
vice extended from thirteen to forty-five months, reckoning from the 
time of their engagement to their return to their homes. The com- 
mittee reported in favor of allowing their wages and Governor Ward 
was requested to write to the agent of the Colony in London, directing 
him to apply to the government to pay these men. 

The French in Canada had not been inactive while the English 
were concentrating at Albany and Fort William Henry, and\ad 
collected a large force of Canadians and Indians in addition to the 
royal troops. In June the Earl of Loudon with a large body of troops 
left New York for Halifax, there to join the British fleet to make an 
attempt to recover Louisburg. No sooner, however, had this large 
force departed, than Montcalm made a simultaneous attack upon the 
several posts occupied by the English near Lake George. With an 
army of 11,000 men he laid siege to Fort William Henry, then gar- 
risoned by 500 men under Colonel Monroe, with a detachment of 1,700 
entrenched near by. At this time General Webb lay at Fort Edward, 
fourteen miles distant, with 4,000 men, among whom were the Rhode 
Island troops. But they did not go to the relief of the besieged, under 
apprehension that the French force was much larger than it was. The 
English held out for six days, when they capitulated, with half their 
cannon burst or dismounted and their ammunition nearly exhausted. 
The English were permitted to depart with the honors of war, under 
pledge not to serve against the French for eighteen months. 

Upon application of the Earl of Loudon an order was given to 
place at his lordship's disposal a company of seventy men, who were 
to be drawn from the Rhode Island regiment by Col. Samuel Angell, 
and remain with Loudon during the winter. The Council of War 
were authorized to provide and send transports to Albany to bring 
home the troops that had been engaged in the campaign. 

Towards the close of the year renewed complaints were made by 
Secretary Pitt of "violences and depredations committed by His 
Majesty's subjects in America, against those of Spain", which had 
been viewed by him "with the highest disapprobation". To check 
these practices the governor was directed to enfoi-ce with the utmost 
rigor the observance of the instructions to privateers, and to employ 
great care in order to prevent all excesses, such as were alleged to have 
been committed in violation of the freedom of navigation by the sub- 
jects of Spain. The precise nature of these charges does not appear ; 
but it is evident that the privateers commissioned by Rhode Island, 
which swarmed in the Indian seas, had not stopped to inquire whether 
it was a French or a Spanish vessel which they boarded, so long as it 
was a prize of value. These they took to various West India ports, 
where they were condemned and sold. Few of them were taken to 



582 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Rhode Island, and the only evidence of the success which attended a 
cruise was a valuable return to the owners in silver and gold or valu- 
able merchandise. 

The loss of Fort AVilliam Henry and the utter defeat of our 
troops caused the greatest consternation throughout the Colonies ; but 
it was too late to begin anything new that season and the forces went 
into winter quarters. The General Assembly, however, passed an act 
to enlist two hundred and fifty men for the winter from those who 
were returning from Albany, a measure which gave great satisfaction 
to Lord Loudon, as shown by a letter from him to Governor Greene. 
The better to provide for the protection of the trade of the Colony the 
Assembly passed a vote to build a war vessel. During the same ses- 
sion a memorial was presented from the merchants of Providence, ask- 
ing that application be made to the king for the appointment of a 
judge of the Court of Vice- Admiralty for the Colony. The memo- 
rialists represented that the merchants had become large adventurers 
in private ships of war, and that the property brought in by such 
vessels could not come into the hands of their owners until first ad- 
judged and condemned by a proper court; that there was only a 
deputy in the Colony, who was so much limited and controlled by his 
superior, who lived out of the Colony, that great damage, delay, and 
inconvenience resulted. 

With the beginning of the year 1758 the Earl of Loudon called 
for a convention of governors of the northern colonies to be held at 
Hartford. At its February session the Rhode Island Assembly re- 
solved to send three commissioners, namely, the governor. Col. John 
Andrews, and Samuel Ward. They were directed to lay before Lord 
Loudon the exact state of the Colony as to its fortifications, cannon, 
warlike and military stores, the number of inhabitants, and the condi- 
tion of the treasury. They were also required to ask of his lordship 
an allowance for the provisions and military stores furnished by the 
Colony during the two preceding years. The memorials presented to 
Lord Loudon by the commissioners present some important details 
regarding the actual state of the Colony at that time. They state 
that at the close of 1755 there were in the Colony 8,262 able-bodied 
men capable of bearing arms; but as they had lost many during the 
war, and 1,500 were out in privateers, they believed the effective force 
had been greatly reduced. This is certainly a very large number ta 
be engaged in privateering, and shows to what an extent the business 
was carried on. From an order to pay certain residents of Newport 
the amount of their bills for the board of French prisoners, it is evi- 
dent that our privateers had been active, for in no other way could 
such prisoners have found their way to Newport. The amount voted 
to be paid for the board of these men was £580 10s. 

Admiral Lord Colvill, who had been appointed commander-in- 



The Sea Force in War Time. 583 

chief of his majesty's ships in North America, wrote Governor Greene 
from Halifax to the effect that his ships were short of seamen and 
desired him to raise and forward to him with the utmost dispatch as 
many as possible. At the same time dispatches came from Secretary 
Pitt expressing great disappointment at the result of the late cam- 
paign, and the determination of the king to recover his losses by the 
most vigorous and extensive effort. He thought the northern Colonies 
were able to furnish 20,000 men, which, with a body of the king's 
forces, might by way of Crown Point carry the war into the heart of 
the enemy's possessions. If found practicable Pitt also purposed to 
attack Montreal and Quebec. The secretary further reiterated the 
call of Admiral Colvill, "to supply him with such a number of sailors 
and workmen from the Colony, as he shall, at any time, require for 
His Majesty's service". 

In September, 1758, General Abercrombie, who had been placed 
in command of the English forces, returned to England, and ]\Tajor- 
General Jett'rey Amherst was appointed to the post of commander-in- 
chief of the king's forces in North America. The question of flags of 
truce occupied much attention at this time, probably owing to the 
powers claimed by them, and tne General Assembly appointed a com- 
mittee to examine the laws relating to them. By their report it ap- 
pears that since the commencement of the war, only little more than a 
year, eleven commissions had been issued. Governor Greene had 
granted three and Governor Hopkins eight. The latter were issued 
to Ebenezer Tyler, Thomas Rodman, Nehemiah Rhodes, Paul Tew, 
Lemuel Angell, Samuel Thurston, John Updike, and Benjamin Wan- 
ton. The law regarding these vessels was now amended, a provision 
being made requiring every flag of truce to carry off all prisoners of 
war that were in the government at the time of issuing the commission, 
if they had the capacity for so doing. An exact account was also 
directed to be kept by the register of the Court of Vice- Admiralty of 
all prisoners of war brought into the government. 

In January following (1759) came letters from Pitt expressing 
the intentions of the king m a campaign against the enemy, and stating 
that these could not be carried out except with the aid of 20,000 men 
from the Colonies. To render the levies more certain. General 
Amherst wrote Governor Hopkins to not disband the troops which had 
been employed in the campaign the previous summer, but to continue 
them in pay, and at the same time to take the necessary steps to raise 
the new levy. Several letters came from Pitt and Amherst upon this 
subject of supplying troops for the army in the beginning of 17o9, and 
the governor was directed to urge on the Council and Assembly the 
importance of exerting themselves in the present critical and decisu'^ 
emergency, on the results of which so much of the safety of the English 
rights and possessions in America depended. In reply to the requisi- 



584 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

tion of Secretary Pitt the General Assembly ordered that the troops in 
the pay of the government should be at once augmented to one thou- 
sand, and divided into thirteen companies. The Council of War was 
directed to send as many of these troops to Albany as the transports 
would carry, the remainder to march by land; they were ordered to 
be ready by the 25th of March. The field officers of the regiment 
were Henry Babcock, colonel ; Daniel Wall, lieutenant-colonel ; John 
Whiting, major. Three of the companies were to be led by these field 
officers. To provide for the comfort of the troops the commissary and 
sutler were ordered to supply clothing and other necessaries not fur- 
nished by the crown. A singular clause was added also to the act 
providing for the regiment, as follows: "If Canada be reduced to 
obedience to His Majesty, during the present campaign, each of the 
soldiers in the service of this Colony shall be entitled to the sum of 
£10, lawful money, on his return, agreeably to the promise made the 
soldiers last year". 

There were other phases of this war in which Rhode Island be- 
came quite deeply interested. This Colony at the beginning of the 
contest had considerable commerce Avith the French islands of the 
West Indies, and, as usual in such cases, property to a large amount 
belonging to Rhode Island citizens was seized or retained by the 
French authorities. To obtain such property the owners asked leave 
of the General Assembly to send out flags of truce. Godfrey and John 
Malbone of Newport obtained permission to send a flag of truce to the 
Island of Hispaniola for such a purpose, and the same privilege was 
granted Silas Cooke, of the privateer Providence, though for a different 
purpose. It appears from Captain Cooke's petition that, while on a 
cruise in the West Indies, he was captured by two French frigates and 
carried to the port of St. Mark, in Hispaniola. He and his crew were 
subsequently liberated and sent to Jamaica, with the exception of three 
Indians and nine negro slaves belonging to men in Rhode Island. The 
latter were to be sold, and knowing how highly they were prized by 
their owners, he made arrangements with a Frenchman to purchase 
them so that their owners might have an opportunity to redeem them. 
It was with the view of obtaining these slaves that permission was 
given Captain Cooke to proceed with a flag of truce to the port of St. 
Mark. 

At the February session of the General Assembly a complaint was 
made by Silas Cooke, agent for Don Antonio Gomez Franco, a subject 
of the king of Spain, against the privateer Roby, Capt. Simon Smith, 
of Warren, which, on the 29th of January, entered the harbor of 
Monte Christo, a port on the Island of San Domingo, and there seized 
a Spanish vessel belonging to this Don Antonio, loaded with sugar, 
which he sent to Warren, where she had arrived and been claimed by 
the owners of the Roby as a lawful prize. Mr. Cooke showed that the 



The Sea Force in War Time. 585 

king, two years before, had prohibited his subjects from taking or 
molesting any of the subjects of his Most Catholic Majesty, on any 
pretense whatever, and as anything done by the people of the Colony, 
contrary to the proclamation of the Idng and against the Law of 
Nations, might draw upon them the displeasure of the long and in- 
volve the nation in a controversy with the king of Spain, which the 
ministry at home had carefully avoided, he prayed in behalf of Captain 
Rodriques, the master of the captured vessel, that it might be restored 
to him, together with its cargo. The Assembly accordingly passed a 
resolution citing the owners of the Roby to make answer to the matters 
alleged in the petition of Mr. Cooke. 

Returning now to the campaign against Canada, it appears that 
Rhode Island, as usual, was required to furnish seamen for the fleet 
then at Halifax under Admiral Durell. This officer, under date of 
February 14, 1759, addressed two letters to Governor Greene on the 
subject. He stated that as the equipping and manning of the squad- 
ron under his command was "of the utmost consequence to His 
Majesty's service, and particularly to the Colonies", he was obliged 
to call upon Rhode Island for seamen. In case they could not be 
furnished the admiral stated that he should be obliged to apply to the 
regiments then at Halifax for them, which he feared might be detri- 
mental to the operations by land. As an inducement for seamen to 
join his squadron he promised them a bounty of forty shillings ster- 
ling, and pledged himself that they should not be taken either to 
Europe or to the West Indies. 

In compliance with this request of Admiral Durell an act was 
passed for raising seamen to complete the manning of the king 's ships 
at Halifax, and to further manifest the zeal of the Colony in the cause, 
the Assembly voted to pay each able-bodied seaman who should enlist 
a bounty of forty shillings sterling in addition to the pay of the king. 
In order the more efficiently to carry this act into effect, the governor 
was requested to issue his proclamation embodying its features therein. 
At the same session the Assembly voted £10,000 towards procuring 
stores and necessaries for the fort on Goat Island and for completing 
its ravelins. The town of Newport had the disposition of this money, 
as well as of the enlistment of soldiers for the fort. 

To carry on the war it became necessary to resort to a tax where- 
with to pay off the troops on their return from the campaign. The 
sum of £16,000 had already been voted for enlisting, equipping, and 
provisioning the regiment, and the apportionment of the proposed tax 
was now made. This brought from three citizens of Newport, Messrs. 
J. Honeyman, Joseph Wanton, jr., and D. Ayrault, jr., a protest 
against the bill. From this it is evident that the war had borne heavily 
upon the people. This the signers do not seem to have objected to, but 
they thought the people of Newport had to bear too large a proportion 



586 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of the tax. They say, "the merchants of Newport have lost, in the 
course of their trade, upwards of two millions of money, since the 
commencement of the War, which loss must greatly affect all persons 
residing in the town", who so much depend upon the prosperity of the 
mercantile community. They think, therefore, that "the inhabitants 
are not in a capacity to pay such proportion of the tax as is enjoined 
by the Bill". On the other hand, they believed that the increased 
price of provisions, by reason of the war, had greatly benefited the 
people in other parts of the Colony by whom these articles were pro- 
duced; and that they in consequence should bear a larger proportion 
of the tax. 

Preparations for the campaign for the conquest of Canada in 
1759 were on a far grander scale than those of preceding ones. A 
powerful fleet under Admiral Saunders, with eight thousand men, in 
command of General Wolfe, was to attack Quebec. To reach JMontreal 
by way of Lake Champlain the French forts at Crown Point and 
Ticonderoga were to be reduced, for which purpose General Amherst 
with twelve thousand men was to march from Albany ; while, farther 
west, an entrance was to be made into Canada at Fort Niagara with a 
provincial army under General Prideaux, and a large body of the Six 
Nations of Indians under Sir William Johnson. The northern 
Colonies entered upon this campaign with great enthusiasm, notwith- 
standing their former sacrifices for the same end ; but military spirit 
was manifested chiefly in New England and New York. Massachu- 
setts, though she had sent large numbers of men before, now furnished 
no less than seven thousand for this war, including those sent to the 
frontier and in garrison. 

The struggle began at Fort Niagara with General Prideaux 's 
force of two battalions from New York, two British regiments, and 
the Indians under Johnson. Prideaux was killed at the beginning of 
the siege and the command devolved upon Johnson. Nine days later 
a general battle took place, which resulted in the defeat of the French 
and the surrender of their army. At the same time General Amherst 
commenced operations on Lake George with a force of twelve thousand 
men, of whom one-half were provincials and the remainder British 
regiments. The French had about one-fourth this number and they 
were forced to abandon Ticonderoga and Crown Point. These first 
results of the campaign were announced to Governor Hopkins in a 
letter from General Amherst, dated July 27, and the following was 
received by the governor, written three days after the fall of Ticon- 
deroga : 

"Ticonderoga, July 29, 1759. 
"Hon'd Sir: — I have so many different things to do, that I have 
scarcely time to turn around. For God's sake, if you have any regard 
to the safety of your Government, as I am well assured no man can 



The Sea Force in War Time. 587 

have more, be good enough, as soon as possible, to appoint Alaior 
Whitmg Lientenant-Colonel, and Eb. Whiting, :\Iajor. I beseech you 
to do so, as It IS for the good of His Majesty's service. The latter has 
been solicited repeatedly to take command in Inskilling Regiment, and 
he Avould not do it without my leave ; and he is so good an officer' that 
I could not, contrary to his private interests, let him go. 

"I beg you would come up, and then you will see what is abso- 
lutely necessary. We want brass kettles, which I must draw upon 
Dow for— but how to get them here, i can't tell. I have not two 
minutes notice of this express going. 

"The fort was evacuated the 26th of July, the same day that 
Louisburg surrendered. 

"lam, &c., &c., H. Babcock." 

To complete the story of the naval events of this campaign we 
give the letter of Admiral Durell, acknowledging the aid he had re- 
ceived from the Colony, etc. : 

"Pass Amelia, otf the Isle ]\Iadame, 
"3d September, 1759. 

"Honorable Gentlemen:— I received the honor of your letter, 
by ]\Ir. Tripp, with the men you so readily and cheerfully raised for 
His Majesty's service, upon my application to you. 

"I take the opportunity of the said gentleman, to return you my 
hearty and sincere thanks, as well for the men raised, as for your 
generous offer in assisting, at any time (upon timely notice given you) 
to raise a greater number, if His Majesty's service should demand it. 
I shall not fail, when I come to England, to represent the cheerfulness 
with which you acted upon this occasion. 

"AA^hen you draw for the forty shillings bounty-money you have 
dispersed upon this account, you will be pleased to make your draught 
upon the Honorable the Commissioners of His Ma.jesty's navy; and if 
said draught should be objected against, which I don't apprehend will 
be the case, you will be pleased to direct your correspondent, in Lon- 
don, to apply to me, and I Avill represent it to the Right Honorable 
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 

"I am, with great regard, &c., &c., ^^ Phi. Durfcll. 

"To the Governor and Company of Rhode Island." 

The result of the attack upon Quebec is familiar to all readers of 
history. The forces reached there on June 26, but little was accom- 
plished during July and August. On the morning of September 13 
the gallant AVolfe made a landing and met iMontcalm in battle, in 
which both of those brave commanders were slain. Five days later 
Quebec capitulated. The news of the victory was received in Rhode 
Island with great joy and the event Avas celebrated with bonfires, 
illuminations, orations, and sermons. In England there were similar 
rejoicings, and a proclamation was issued appointing a day of public 
thanksgiving throughout the country. 



588 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

After the fall of Quebec the government determined to continue 
the war with vigor and drive the French from every part of the con- 
tinent. Further operations were, however, postponed for that season. 
The following letter was received by Governor Hopkins from Admiral 
Colvill, at Halifax : 

"!SiRS: — As I am Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's forces, in 
North America, the nature of my office, as well as my instructions, 
points out to me the propriety of corresponding with the several Gov- 
ernors of His Majesty's Colonies on the Continent. Therefore, I make 
it my present request to your Excellency, that you will, as early as 
possible, communicate to me whatever intelligence you may receive, 
relating to the enemy; and, particularly, if any of their ships of war 
should arrive in your neighborhood, that part of the force under my 
command may be employed to defeat their purposes. 

"I must likewise acquaint you that most of the King's ships with 
me are short of complement, and, by death and sickness, will be still 
shorter in the Spring. There is no provision made to supply this 
deficiency from England; because 'tis supposed, there, that it can be 
done from the Colonies; and, although I am perfectly sensible, from 
former experience, how difficult it is to raise men in America, for the 
sea service, yet I am under the necessity of applying to Your Excel- 
lency for this purpose ; because I have no other prospect whereby the 
strength of the squadron can be kept up. 

"I am, &c., &c. Colvill. 

"Northumberland, at Halifax, Nov. 1, 1759. 
"To the Governor and Company of Rhode Island." 

Under date of December 13, 1759, General Amherst wrote Gov- 
ernor Hopkins, complimenting the Rhode Island troops for their ser- 
vices in the Canadian campaign. He adds, ' ' and, as Colonel Babcock 
has, throughout the whole campaign, continually manifested his zeal 
for the service, and upon all occasions promoted it to his utmost, I 
should do him injustice were I to omit giving him this public testimony 
of it, and begging of you to return him my particular thanks for the 
same". On the same occasion General Amherst made a requisition on 
the Colony for a regiment of troops, or rather requested that the regi- 
ment which had been in the late campaign should be filled and retained 
in the service during the winter. But the general was too late with 
this request, for the General Assembly, in its October session, had 
ordered the disbanding of the regiment upon its return, unless before 
that time a request for its longer retention should be received. In 
stating this fact to General Amherst the governor assured him that 
the Colony had no design of withholding further assistance to his 
majesty's service, and that his future requisitions for troops would at 
once be laid before the Assembly, by which body they would "all be 
cheerfully and promptly carried into execution". 



The Sea Force in War Time. 589 

Early in the following year a letter was received from Secretary 
William Pitt, calling for further aid from the Colony, asking for "at 
least as large a body of men" as were furnished in the last campaign 
and "even as many more as the number of inhabitants may allow"' 
The governor laid this letter before the Assembly at its February 
session, and it was promptly acted upon by the passage of an act for 
raising one thousand men "to proceed on an expedition against His 
Majesty's enemies still remaining in Canada, and for supplying the 
treasury for the necessary charges thereof". Bills of Credit to the 
amount of £16,000 were ordered to be issued towards carrying out the- 
provisions of the act. The field officers of this regiment were I Chris- 
topher Harris, colonel; John Whiting, lieutenant-colonel; Thomas 
Burket, major. Among the company officers are found the names of 
Slocum, AVatson, Peck, Tew, Brown, Shaw, Wilcox, Rodman, Eldred, 
etc. The Assembly also requested the governor to apply to the home 
government for the bounty due the troops in the campaign of the 
previous year. In addition to the £16,000 just mentioned, an addi- 
tional £10,000 was voted in the following May. 

The events connected with the campaign of 1760 against Canada, 
in which the Rhode Island regiment took part, belong to the history of 
the country rather than to that of this Colony. The French failed in 
an attempt to recover Quebec, and the whole British force was con- 
centrated upon Montreal. The main army under General Amherst, 
including tne Rhode Island troops, descended Lake Ontario and the 
St. Lawrence from Oswego, while General Murray came up from 
Quebec with four thousand men ; Colonel Haviland, with three thou- 
sand five hundred, approached from Crown Point. Against the over- 
whelming force Montreal surrendered without a struggle, and the ter- 
ritory now constituting Michigan, with all of western Canada, soon 
after submitted, completing the reduction of Canada. 

The General Assembly ordered that a proclamation be issued by 
the governor, disbanding the Rhode Island troops at the end of fifteen 
days after their discharge by the general, with orders to march home. 
The Assembly also appointed a day of general thanksgiving for the 
success of his majesty's arms. 

In October, 1761, William Pitt resigned his seat in the Council, 
and the Earl of Egremont became secretary for the Colonies. He soon 
afterward wrote requesting that this Colony should raise six hundred 
and sixty-six men, the same quota furnished the previous year, to be 
placed under General Amherst; this request was readily complied 
with. Amherst also made a requisition for one hundred and seventy- 
eight additional troops to complete the regular corps, and these were 

In January following Lord Egremont transmitted to Governor 
Hopkins the king's declaration of war against Spam, with an order 



590 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

that it be proclaimed in the Colony. He further announced that his 
majesty had been pleased to authorize the granting of letters of 
marque, or commissions to privateers. This news was particularly 
gratifying to the colonists, who were always ready to embark in enter- 
prises on the sea. 

Before the regiment referred to was raised a letter from General 
Amherst requested that the quota of two hundred and seven men, with 
one field officer and other officers, be sent to him at New York with the 
utmost dispatch, to be employed in an "expedition of the utmost im- 
portance". This detachment, which was commanded by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Hargill, proved to be a part of the troops organizing for an 
expedition to Cuba. 

By the seizure of some French papers in New York it was learned 
that they had made extensive plans for supplying their fleets and 
their West India colonies with provisions, and that Rhode Island was 
one of the principal colonies upon which they were relying ; also, that 
some of the merchants of Newport were to be concerned in the "in- 
iquitous trade". To stop this, General Amherst wrote Governor Hop- 
kins, directing him to cause an embargo to be placed upon all vessels 
except those engaged in transporting troops. Samuel Ward, who had 
just been elected governor of Rhode Island, replying to Amherst, says 
that, "although a few persons may have been concerned in the in- 
jurious traffic referred to, the people of the Colony in general are very 
far from countenancing any measures which have the least tendency 
to obstruct His Majesty's service or support his enemies". 

From a petition presented to the General Assembly by Capt. 
Edward Wells, jr., of Hopkinton, it appears that the enemy sometimes 
took the Colony's vessels. The petitioner represents that "he hath 
lost large sums of money at sea by the enemy's taking his vessels", and 
"is likely to be ruined thereby". "That by reason thereof, he cannot 
pay his just debts mthout the assistance of the Assembly". He 
therefore asked and obtained permission to conduct a lottery to enable 
him to dispose of his goods. 

In compliance with the request of General Amherst, before men- 
tioned, a company of sixty-four men, with two officers, were detailed 
from the Rhode Island regiment to remain at Fort Stanwix until the 
following July. The remainder were transported to Providence by 
water from Albany. 

Governor Ward found difficulty in raising men to make up 
deficiencies in the regular army, as required by the Earl of Egremont, 
although the colonists were readily enlisted as colonial troops. In his 
reply to the earl, the governor wrote that there "was a great scarcity 
of men, Avhich was occasioned by the provincial levies and the spirit of 
privateering prevailing since the breaking out of the Spanish war". 
He was, however, able to send to General Amherst a number of recruits 



The Sea Force in War Time. 591 

who had arrived at Newport from the British frigate Hussar, which 
had been cast away on the Island of Hispaniola. 

The taking of Havana was the most brilUant achievement of tins 
war, although it was attended with great loss of life. A fleet under 
Admiral Sir George Pococke sailed from England in j\Iarch, and, 
uniting with the squadron of Lord Rodney, formed a powerful expedi- 
tion of thirty-seven ships of war, one hundred and fifty transports, 
and ten thousand troops. Besides these there were the reinforcements 
from the colonies, which sailed from New York under General Lyman, 
numbering about two thousand five hundred men. to which must be 
added about the same number of negroes from the AVest India islands. 
The Spanish garrison numbered about four thousand six hundred. 
The siege of INIoro Castle began in June, amid great heat, which caused 
many fatalities among the soldiers from a more northern chmate ; but 
after great hardship and fearful loss of life, a breach was made in the 
walls of the castle and it was then carried by storm ; a fortnight later 
the city itself capitulated. The amount of treasure captured is stated 
to have been three millions sterling. The following letter from Gen- 
eral Amheret announces the victory and states that the Rhode Island 
troops took part in it : 

"New York, 6th September, 1762. 

"Sir: 'Tis with the highest joy and satisfaction that I can 
inform you of the reduction of Havana; having received letters from 
my Lord Albemarle, by the Enterprise man-of-war. which arrived 
here at two o'clock. 

"His Lordship acquaints me that the Moro fort was taken by 
storm, on the 30th July, very much to the honor and credit of the 
troops, and on the 18th August the Havana, with its dependencies, 
surendered by capitulation, and is now added to His Majesty's con- 
quests. 

"The fatigues the troops have undergone during a long siege are 
not to be described ; and the spirit and resolution with which they have 
carried on the different operations in that climate are not to be 
equalled. 

"It gives me particular satisfaction that the troops furnished on 
this occasion by the Colony of Rhode Island arrived in time to partake 
of the honors reaped by so noble a conquest. 

' ' I am, with great regard, 

"Your most obedient servant, Jeff. Amherst. 

"To the Hon. Gov. Ward." 

In a letter from Amherst, of September 15. he thanks Governor 
Ward and the Assembly for their promptness and cheerful compliance 
with his requisition for troops for Fort Stamvix. On October 13 he 
apprised the governor of the retaking of St. Johns by the British fleet 
under Lord Colvill. 



592 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

The troops engaged in the expedition against Havana returned to 
New York late in November, when those from Rhode Island were for- 
warded by transports to Newport. It appears by General Amherst's 
dispatch that the loss in men from the unhealthiness of the climate 
was very great. Of the two hundred and twelve furnished by Rhode 
Island, only one hundred and twelve survived the siege. A dispatch 
from the Earl of Egremont, dated November 27, to Governor Ward, 
announced the welcome news that peace had been ratified between 
Great Britain, France and Spain, whereupon the following proclama- 
tion was made by him : 

"By the Hon. Samuel Ward, Esquire, Governor, Captain-General and 

Commander-in-Chief of, and over the English colony of Rhode 

Island and Providence Plantations, in New England in America. 

To all whom these presents shall come, greeting : 

"Be it known, that in pursuance of His Majesty's orders, signified 

to me by a letter from the Right Honorable the Earl of Egremont, 

one of His Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, cessation of arms 

between His Britannic Majesty, His Most Christian Majesty, His 

Catholic Majesty, and His Most Faithful Majesty, and their respective 

vassals and subjects, as well by sea as land, m all parts of the world, 

was published on Tuesday, the 8tli instant, at Newport, in the Colony 

aforesaid. 

"Given under my hand and the seal of the said Colony this 15th day 
of February, 1763, and in the third year of the reign of His Most 
Sacred Majesty George the Third, by the Grace of God, King of 
Great Britain, &c. Sam. Ward. 

' ' By His Honor 's comand, 

"Henry Ward, Secr'y." 

In the ensuing month of June an order was issued from the Com- 
missioners of Trade and Plantations, directing that a day of public 
thanksgiving should be observed throughout all his majesty's colonies 
in America, on the happy conclusion of peace. The General Assembly 
accordingly appointed August 25, 1763, to be observed in compliance 
with the order, and the governor issued his proclamation "requiring 
the inhabitants to assemble together on that day, in their respective 
places of worship ' ', and also, ' ' forbidding all servile labor, sports, and 
pastimes on that day". 

In this long nine years war the little Colony of Rhode Island took 
a most active part, furnishing more than her proportion of men for 
the army, besides complying with the constant requisitions for seamen 
for the fleets. She had willingly borne the increased taxation and 
submitted to the loss of her foreign commerce. She had been, however, 
in a measure remunerated for this loss by the profits which accrued 
from her numerous privateers, and it is safe to say that the military 
spirit which characterized the people of th^ Colony in its Revolution- 



The Sea Force in AVar Time, 593 

ary struggle, and which was again manifested by its contributions of 
men and money towards crushing the rebellion of the Southern States, 
commenced in the war between Great Britain and Prance for su- 
premacy in America. 

In the several wars in which Great Britain was engaged previous 
to the Revolution, it has been shown that she considered the maritime 
Colony of Rhode Island a nursery for seamen, whence she manned 
many of her ships ; indeed, it was not alone when she was engaged in 
war that these calls were made upon us, for in peace her fleets were 
constantly on the lookout for seamen wherever they could be found. 

Rhode Island had ever manifested the strongest loyalty for the 
mother country, as has been amply shown. Now, however, the colonists 
considered their rights and liberties had been infringed upon by in- 
creased duties upon articles necessary for her existence, and without 
which her commerce would be utterly destroyed. The proposed stamp 
duties and the increased powers to the Courts of Vice- Admiralty were 
grievances equally serious, and tended to alienate the hitherto loyal 
colonists. 

When Rear- Admiral Lord Colvill, in 1764, sent four armed vessels 
from Halifax "to spread themselves", as he wrote to England, "in the 
principal harbors between Casco Bay and Cape Henlopen, in order to 
raise men", he did not meet with as favorable a reception in Rhode 
Island as on previous occasions. The vessel which came here was the 
schooner St. John, Lieutenant Hill. This officer, it appears from the 
admiral's dispatch, met with very little success, for, writes he, "the 
merchants having, to all appearance, entered into a combination to 
distress us, as far as they are able, and by threats and promises, to 
prevent seamen from entering". 

But it was not alone in dissuading seamen from entering the 
king's service that Admiral Colvill had received a rebuff from the 
people of Rhode Island. His officer, Lieutenant Hill, having employed 
his vessel in other duties at Newport, met with resistance which he did 
not expect. "The behavior of the people at Rhode Island to Lieutenant 
Hill", wrote the Admiral, "in an aff^air of his duty as a Custom-house- 
officer, was so extremely insolent and unprecedented, that I thmk it 
my duty to lay before their Lordships an account thereof, under his 
own hand ; and, at the same time to observe that, from his conversa- 
tion there is reason to think there are many aggravating circum- 
stance committed in this account, which would appear upon strict m- 

quirv into the affair". ,. * 3 • 1 ri^K,;ii 

"This aff-air was a very serious one in the eyes of Admiral Colvill, 
and assumed the character of armed resistance to his majesty s gov- 
ernment; hence he transmitted to England the following full repoit 
of his officers regarding it : 
38-1 



594 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

"On the 30th of June, being at Newport, in Rhode Island, I re- 
ceived information that a brig was unloading in a creek, near How- 
land's Ferry. I immediately weighed anchor, and Avent in quest of 
her. Upon my arrival there, I found the vessel had unloaded her cargo 
and sailed. 

' ' I forthwith made seizure of the cargo, which consisted of ninety- 
three hogsheads of sugar; and, at night, sent the boat, manned and 
armed, in pursuit of the brig, which was taken the next morning, at 

day-break, and proved to be the Basto, of New York, Wingate, 

Master, from Monte Christo. 

' ' I reloaded the sugar, on board of her ; and the owner being ap- 
prehensive that I intended to carry her to Halifax, had me arrested, 
and obliged me to find bail that she should be brought to Newport and 
tried there ; on the 4tli July, the Collector of the Customs reseized the 
brig and cargo, under a pretence that I v/as not properly qualified; 
although I imagined that I had taken all the necessary oaths, at Hali- 
fax ; yet it seems the oath of office had been omitted. I immediately 
set out, by land, for Boston, to consult the Surveyor- General, on this 
matter; and, in my absence, the mob, at Newport, endeavored to 
destroy the King's vessel. The following is the account which I 
received of this affair, from my officers, upon my return : 

" 'On Monday, the 9th July, 1764, at two o'clock in the afternoon, 
sent the boat, manned and armed, on shore, to bring off: Thomas Moss, 
a deserter, who had left the vessel, some days before, and was then on 
the wharf; a large mob assembled and rescued him; and seeing our 
people in great danger, we fired a swivel, unshotted, as signal for the 
boat to come on board. The mob took Mr. Doyle, the officer of the 
boat, prisoner, and wounded most of the boat's crew, with stones, 
which fell as thick as hail around and in the boat ; and they threatened 
to sacrifice Mr. Doyle, if the Pilot was not immediately sent on shore, 
and delivered up to their mercy; they even threatened to haul the 
schooner on shore, and burn her. 

'" ' At five, we sent the boat on board the Squirrel, to acquaint the 
commanding officer of our situation. In the meantime, the mob filled 
a sloop full of men, and bore right down to board us; but seeing us 
determined to defend the vessel, they thought proper to sheer off and 
go on shore again. 

" 'At six, the boat returned from the Squirrel, with orders to get 
under way, and anchor close under her stern. The mob growing more 
and more tumultuous, we fired a SAvivel, and made a signal to the 
Squirrel, for assistance, and got under sail. As soon as the mob saw 
our design, they sent a sloop and two or three boats full of men, to the 
battery, on Goat Island, and began to fire on us, notwithstanding the 
Lieutenant of the Squirrel went on shore and forbade the Gunner to 
do any such thing. They even knocked him down ; and it was with 
difficulty that he got from them; they fired eight shots at us, one of 
which went through our mainsail, whilst we were turning out. 



The Sea Force in War Time. 595 

" 'At eight, we anchored in ten fathom water, within half a cable's 
length of the Squirrel, and received one shot more from the battery 
which went close under the Squirrel 's stern. They threatened to sink 
us, if we did not immediately weigh and run into the harbor again ; 
but upon the Squirrel's getting a spring upon the cable and bringin^^ 
her broadside to bear upon the battery, they left otf . ° ° 

" 'At eleven, next morning, they set Mr. Doyle at liberty.' 

"Thomas Hill". 

Upon receipt by the English government of Admiral Colvill's let- 
ter, transmitting the reports of Lieutenant Hill and Captain Smith, 
officers commanding the king's ships, St. John and Squirrel, the matter 
was laid before the king in council. The proceedings were soon com- 
municated by Secretary Sharpe to the Colony, as follows : 

"At the Court of St. James's, the 19th day of March, 1765. 
Present, the King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council. 

"Whereas, there was this day read at the Board a report from 
the Eight Honorable the Lords of- the Committee of Council for 
Plantation Affairs, dated the 15th of this instant, upon considering 
several papers relative to the riotous behavior of the inhabitants of 
Rhode Island, in opposition to Lieutenant Hill, commanding officer of 
the schooner St. John, and acting as a Custom house officer, to prevent 
smuggling and carrying on an illicit trade in those parts ; 

"His Majesty taking the said report into consideration, is pleased, 
with the advice of his Privy Council, to approve of what was therein 
proposed, and doth hereby order, that copies of the said papers (which 
are hereunto annexed), be transmitted to tne Governor and Company 
of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; who are 
to return to His Majesty, at this Board, with all possible dispatch, an 
exact and punctual account of the whole proceeding, authenticated in 
the best manner, the nature of the case will admit of. together with the 
names and descriptions of the offenders, and what means were used 
at the time of the tumult, by the Government and Magistracy of that 
Colony, for the suppression thereof, and the protection of His 
Majesty's vessels and their crews; particularly, whether anything, and 
what, was done, by the Government of the said Colony, when the 
populace possessed themselves of the battery, upon Goat Island ; and 
what measures have been since taken, to discover and bring to justice 
the offenders. W. Sharpe." 

"Extract from letter from the Right Honorable Lord Colvill, Com- 
mander-in-Chief of His Majesty's ships and vessels in North 
America, to Mr. Stevens, dated on board His Majesty's ship, tlie 
Romney, 24 August, 1764. 

"In my letter of 26th July, I enclosed you the account which I 
received from Lieutenant Hill, Commander in Chief of the St. John, 
schooner, of the treatment he met with from the people of Newport 
Rhode Island ; since which, I have had a letter from Captain Smith, of 



596 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

the Squirrel, relative to the same affair, an extract of v^^hich I now 
enclose, together with his Lieutenant *s account of the transaction. 

" 'Copy of an extract of a letter from Captain Smith, to Lord 
Colvill, dated Squirrel, Rhode Island, 1th July, 1764. 

' ' ' On Monday last, I was ashore, and on my return, received the 
enclosed account, from my Lieutenant, of a most insolent and ignorant 
abuse of the power in the Government of this place, on which I imme- 
diately sent on shore for the Gunner of the fort, to know his authority 
for lirilig on the King's colors. He produced an Order for stopping 
that vessel, signed by two of the Council, the Deputy Governor being 
absent at that time. 

" 'I, in company with my Lieutenant, waited on the Governor and 
Council to demand a proper acknowledgement of the insult they had 
committed, in order to inform Your Lordship of it ; I found them a 
set of very ignorant Council. 

" 'They agreed that the Gunner had acted by authority, and that 
they would answer for it, when they thought it necessary. 

" 'It appears to me, that they were guided by the mob, whose 
intentions were to murder the Pilot and destroy the vessel. I am 
very sorry they ceased firing before we had convinced them of their 
error. But I hope it will, by Your Lordship's representation, be the 
means of a change of Government in this licentious republic' 

' ' The Lieutenant of the Squirrel 's account of the above affair : 

" 'In the afternoon, as I was walking the deck, I saw a gun fired 
from the St. John; soon after, her boat, with a petty officer, came on 
board, and told me that the mob had rescued the deserter, detained 
the Master, and wounded all the boat's crew, and that the gun fired, 
was for the boat to return on board ; that the people from the town 
hailed the schooner, and desired them to send the Pilot on shore, or 
they would sacrifice the Master, and manned several boats to board 
them. I then ordered him to return on board, and to make a signal 
if they attempted anything further ; likewise, to bring the schooner 
out, and anchor near us. 

" 'Soon after, several gentlemen came on board, and said they 
came to represent the occasion of this disturbance, lest the officer of 
the schooner should have made a misrepresentation of the affair. They 
said there was a theft committed by three of the schooner 's people ; 
that they had one in possession, and wanted the other two, who were 
on board the schooner ; that a peace-officer had went off, and they had 
refused him admittance ; and they now imagined he would return with 
an armed force to gain admittance. I told the gentlemen the offenders 
should be sent asnore. 

" 'The signal was then made by the schooner, pursuant to my 
former directions. I immediately sent a boat and a petty officer, to 
order her out of the harbor; on which the gentlemen told me they 
would fire on her from the fort. I then told the officer, if they fired 



The Sea Force in War Time. 597 

from the fort, to go on shore to the fort, and let them know it was my 
orders for her to move and anchor near us ; and then the men should 
be delivered to justice; and if he fired again, I should be obliged to 
return it. They continued their fire. I then ordered a spring on our 
cable, and went ashore, to the fort, to let them know the consequence 
of their behavior. I found no other officer than the Gunner, governed 
by a tumultuous mob, who said they had orders to fire, and they would 
fire. They used me with great insolence, and knocked me do^vn, and 
would have detained me. I then returned to the boat, ordered the 
ship to prepare for action, and proceeded on board the schooner, and 
brought her to anchor near the ship ; they then ceased firing. 

" 'I then went on shore, to demand justice of the Deputy-gov- 
ernor for the treatment I had received at the fort. He replied I must 
pursue the law. I told him I would redress myself, if there were to 
be found, as he seemed not active to do me justice. I then returned to 
take the people off who had insulted me, but could not find them'. 

"The account from which the above is copied, appears to be in 
Captain Smith's hand-writing, but not signed by Lieutenant Hugh 
Bachie, of the Squirrel, as I imagine, from forgetfulness. 

"COLVILL." 

In June, 1765, Daniel Jenckes presented a petition to the Assem- 
bly representing that he, with Nathan Angell, Nicholas and Daniel 
Tillinghast, and John Jenckes, were owners of the sloop Kinnicut and 
her cargo, which was taken by a Spanish privateer belonging to the 
Island of Trinidad, since the cessation of hostilities between Great 
Britain and Spain, and carried to Trinidad and there condemned as 
a lawful prize ; that they had made application to the courts of Great 
Britain and Spain for restitution of their property and had received 
an order from the king of Spain, directed to the governor of Trinidad, 
commanding him to make full satisfaction for the vessel and cargo, 
without any deduction. The owners of the vessel now desii-ed the 
governor to grant them such a commission as would enable them to 
send to Trinidad and demand satisfaction for their property. This 
petition w^as readily granted, and the governor was empowered to com- 
mission a vessel with such persons as the owners deemed necessary to 
enable them to proceed with safety to Trinidad, in order to demand 
restitution of their property and satisfaction for their losses. 

It would appear that the colonists had met with other losses of a 
similar nature, as the governor was requested by the Assembly to issue 
a proclamation desiring all persons in the Colony who had -sustained 
damage at or upon the islands of the West Indies, called the lurk s 
Island,' " to bring in their respective accounts of the same, m order 
that they might be transmitted to Jamaica for relief. , ^ ^ ., 

Another ali'air growing out of privateering was brought to the 
attention of the colonial government in a letter from the Earl ot 



598 



State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 



Halifax to the governor. The writer transmitted' a letter from 
Gnerchy, the French ambassador in London, wherein he charged that 
a French ship, the Claude Mane, which sailed from the Island of 
Martinique on November 10, 1741 (twenty-four years before), bound 
for the coast of Spain, was attacked and taken by a privateer belong- 
ing to Rhode Island, the captain of which, he asserted, "used all kinds 
of violence to oblige him to declare that his vessel belonged to the 
Spaniards, with whom England was then at war". The vessel was 




Model of the United States Frigate Washington. 

Formerly owned by the Providence Marine Association and now in the Cabinet of the 
Rhode Island Historical Society. 



then taken to Charleston, South Carolina, where she was condemned, 
or, as the ambassador writes, "the cargo was stolen". The owner 
having learned that the privateer was from Rhode Island, proceeded 
there and laid a complaint before the Governor and Council, who, 
after long discussion, "awarded him the expense and damage which 
he demanded", and ottered to prove by his papers. On account of 
the opening of the war between Great Britain and France before he 
received his award, the matter had remained unadjusted until this 



The Sea Force in War Time. 599 

time. Such was the statement made by the French minister through 
the Earl of Halifax. His lordship now renuested Governor Ward "to 
make immediate inquiry into the circumstance alleged in His Excel- 
lency's letter and transmit to him the fullest information thereupon; 
also to give the agents of Sieur Maginel, the vessel's owner, every 
facility in his power towards obtaining the justice which, upon inquiry 
and examination, might appear due to them". 

The following is an extract from Governor Ward's dispatch of 
November 6, in reference to this matter : 

"I had the honor of His Majesty's commands of the 8th of July 
last, transmitted to me by the Right Honorable the Earl of Halifax, 
directing the Governor and Company of this Colony to make imme- 
diate inquiry into the circumstances of an affair in which the Sieur 
Maginel, of Dunkirk, was concerned, as alleged in a letter from His 
Excellency, the French Ambassador, a copy of which I received with 
My Lord Halifax's letter, in obedience to which, a Committee Avas 
appointed by the Government, to examine into that affair; who re- 
ported that they have carefully and diligently searched the records of 
the several Courts of Admiralty, and can iind not the least account of 
the matters mentioned in His Excellency's letter. But I shall imme- 
diately order further inquiry to be made, and shall immediately trans- 
mit to Your Excellency an account of what I may discover in this mat- 
ter ; and upon application of the agents or representatives of the Sieur 
Maginel, shall give them every facility in my power for their obtaining 
that justice which, upon inquiry, shall appear to be due them. 

"I have the honor to be, 

"With great truth and regard. Sir, etc., 

"Sam. Ward. 
' ' To the Right Honorable Henry Seymour Conway. ' ' 

In the year 1765, his majesty's ship, the Maidstone, being sta- 
tioned at Newport for the protection of the revenue, her officers gave 
great offense to the colonists, and particularly those whose avocations 
required them to go upon the water, by stopping and overhauling 
every vessel that entered or departed from the harbor. Even the 
iishing and wood-boats were stopped and seamen taken from them. 
To such an extent was this carried that the people of Newport would 
bear it no longer. On an occasion when the boat belonging to the 
Maidstone came ashore, she was seized by a mob, dragged through the 
streets to the Common and there publicly burned. At this time sev- 
eral of the inhabitants were impressed or detained upon the Maid- 
stone, for whose release Governor Ward made application, through the 
high sheriff, to the commander. Captain Antrobus. This officer was 
not on board when the sheriff visited the ship and the lieutenant m 
command refused to deliver up the men. In his letter referred to 
the governor says that the burning of the Maidstone s boat gave him 



600 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

great uneasiness, and that he should use his "utmost endeavors to 
prevent any such violent and scandalous measures from taking place 
in the future, as well as to bring all who have lately behaved in that 
illegal manner to condign punishment". He further promised his 
protection to the officers and men of the Maidstone whenever they 
came on shore, ' ' they behaving themselves peaceably, and conforming 
to the laws of the Colony". 

Prominent in Rhode Island history at this time were the events 
growing out of the passage of the famous Stamp Act, but as they do 
not appertain to naval affairs, they need not be treated here. It may, 
however, be remarked that the bold and open resistance of the Colony 
to that measure, and the riots which grew out of its enforcement, led 
to the sending of more armed vessels into the waters of Narragansett 
Bay. The Cygnet, Captain Leslie, lay at Newport at the time and 
furnished protection to John Robinson, the collector, John Nichol, 
comptroller, and Nicholas Lechmere, searcher, who had been compelled 
to close the custom house and flee for their lives. From the Cygnet 
they addressed a letter to Governor Ward, calling for protection, 
without which they could not reopen the custom house. In the gov- 
ernor's absence this letter was answered by Gideon Wanton, jr., who 
states "that the fury of the populace hath entirely subsided, and the 
minds of the people quieted ; so that there is not the least danger or 
apprehension of any further riotous proceedings". He advises them 
to return and attend to their business, promising them all the protec- 
tion in his power. Their absence, he adds, "has put an entire stop to 
the trade and commerce of the Colony, which will be attended with the 
most pernicious consequences". This counsel was reiterated by Gov- 
ernor Ward upon his return. 

Another grievance of the Newport people was that a prize vessel 
brought to that port, laden with molasses, had been taken and held by 
the British ship Cygnet, awaiting the determining of the prosecution 
against her at Halifax, instead of submitting her case to a Vice- 
Admiralty Court in Rhode Island. It had been learned by the custom 
officers detained on the Cygnet that a mob in Newport, headed by 
Samuel Crandall, demanded the release of the prize sloop, together 
with several scows which had also been seized, and that Crandall 
further demanded that the officers of the customs should receive their 
fees as settled by an act of the General Assembly, in defiance of the 
act lately passed by Parliament. In reply to the governor, Mr. 
Robinson and his associates stated "the infamous terms presumptu- 
ously proposed by Crandall", and said that they "cannot attend to 
the exercise of their respective functions, whatever inconvenience it 
may be to the trade", until he has appointed a guard to the custom 
house and supports them in the execution of their duty. They then 
call upon him to arrest the offender that he might be punished as the 



The Sea Force in War Time. 601 

law directs. Governor Ward replied, informing Collector Robinson 
that he had seen Mr. Crandall, who assured him that he had not the 
least intention of raising a disturbance or riot; but that Mr. Robinson 
"had personally used him ill, and that he shall insist upon proper 
satisfaction". The governor again urged the collector and his officers 
to return to their duties, as the town was suffering greatly from tlie 
closing of the custom house. 

On the same day that the governor wrote the above to Collector 
Robinson he received the following from Captain Leslie of the Cygnet : 

"Sir:— As I find you are arrived in town, I think it necessary 
to acquaint you there have been several reports brought to me of the 
mob having frequently threatened the taking forcibly away the sloop 
which is noAv under protection of the Cygnet ; and I have great reason 
to believe tlie truth of such report, from a demand having been made 
of the same, by one Crandall, who, I am informed, is a principal per- 
son in the mob, as part of the conditions of the Collector's coming on 
shore and remaining in safety ; and that their plan is to be thus : 

' ' To man and arm a number of boats or vessels, and possess them- 
selves of the fort; and, in case they find a resistance on my part, when 
such boats or vessels are endeavoring to take away the said sloop 
(which will certainly be the case, when we discover any such attempts 
being made), that then the guns at the fort are to be fired at His 
Majesty's ship under my command. 

"This, I own, appears very surprising; but from the repetition 
of the report, and what happened, last year, to His ^Majesty's schooner 
St. John, I must own I think the madness of the mob may carry them 
to such length, without the interposition of the Government authority. 

"Should their frenzy bring them to such a height, I am deter- 
mined to return it, immediately, from His Majesty's ship, without 
sending to the fort to know any reason or ask any questions. The 
Government will reflect what consequences may arise not only from 
the damage the town may receive from the shot which may pass over 
the fort into it ; but what may hereafter happen on such an enormous 
thing being committed in a British Colony. Thus far. Sir, I think is 
the duty I owe His Majesty's service, to make you acquainted with. 

"I am, Sir, &c., &c., Charles Leslie. ^ 

"Dated on board the Cygnet, Rhode Island harbor, Sunday, Sep r 
1st, 1765. 
"ToSamuel Ward, Esq.". 

In reply to this letter Governor Ward wrote as follows : 

"Newport, 2d September, 1765. 
"Sir:-I am now to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
yesterday ; though I must confess I am much at a loss what answer to 

make to it. . ,, j +1 ^ 

"The reports carried on board the Cygnet are so idle, and the 

plans said to be formed for obtaining the sloop so chimerical, that 



602 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

nothing but the regard due to you, induces me to take the least notice 
of them ; and you may depend upon it, Sir, that there is not the least 
foundation for them. 

' ' Should any person be so Aveak or wicked as to attempt the taking 
His Majesty's fort into their possession, I shall take proper measures 
to prevent it, and to bring the offenders to justice ; and the duty I owe 
my Sovereign will induce me, at all times, to use my utmost endeavors 
to prevent any differences from arising between the inhabitants of 
this Colony and any officers or men of His Majesty's ships, under your 
command, on this station. 

"I am. Sir, etc., etc., S. Ward. 

' ' To Charles Leslie, Esq. ' '. 

To this Captain Leslie replied thus : 

"Sir:— I have yours, acknowledging the receipt of my letter, in 
which you declare yourself at a loss what answer to make me ; and that 
the reports carried on board the Cygnet are so idle, and the plan 'said 
to be formed for obtaining the sloop so chimerical, that nothing but 
the regard you please to express for me, would induce you to take any 
notice of it;' and assuring me, 'that there is not the least foundation 
for the whole, and that you will take all proper measures in respect 
to any attempt on the fort.' 

"In answer to all which, I must acquaint you that idle as you 
may look on these reports to be, they are well founded, and were fre- 
quently repeated by some of the principal people in the town, to me ; 
and, whenever it becomes necessary, it can be proved, notwithstanding 
the contempt and disbelief with which your answer treats my letter ; 
for I cannot look on it in any other light ; and as to whether you had 
taken any notice of it or not, it would have given me no pain. I 
thought it incumbent on me to make you acquainted with such circum- 
stances which induced me to do it. 

"I am. Sir, etc., etc., Charles Leslie. 

"Cygnet, Rhode Island harbor, Sept. 2d, 1765. 
"To Samuel Ward, Esq." 

A determination to resist the law and the authorities of the gov- 
ernment was apparent in Providence as well as in NcAvport. The 
high duties were one grievance ; the transfer of cases of prize vessels 
to the Admiralty Courts of other Colonies was another. Indeed, if 
an opinion is to be formed from the results of cases in the courts of 
the Colony Avhere the government was the prosecutor, it is not surpris- 
ing that they were taken elsewhere. Trials were postponed when it 
suited the defendants, or were called at so short a notice that witnesses 
could not be procured. The government could scarcely find proof 
sufficient to convict parties charged with smuggling; and every ob- 
stacle seems to have been placed in the way of the government. A 
complaint was made by the collector and comptroller of the customs 



The Sea Force in "Wak Time. 603 

to his majesty's government, dated June, 1765. The Lords Commis- 
sioners of the Treasury, after considering it, caused a copy to be 
transmitted to the governor of Rhode Island, requesting him "imme- 
diately to make the most strict and diligent inquiry into the matter 
complained of in the letter", and inform them the state of the facts 
therein mentioned, that their lordships might be thoroughly acquainted 
with the circumstances of this att'air and be enabled to take such meas- 
ures as might prevent the like proceedings in future. 

Four years later in July another conflict occurred in the waters 
of the harbor of Newport. 

Among the British ships cruising in the waters of New England 
in search of smugglers and to enforce the revenue laws was the sloop 
Liberty, Capt. William Reid. 

In the course of his cruise in Long Island Sound Captain Reid 
picked up two Connecticut vessels, a brig and a sloop, and brought 
them into Newport Harbor and charged their commanders wdth being 
smugglers. The captain of the Liberty had incurred the enmity of 
nearly every ship captain within the district he patrolled by his high- 
headed methods of dealing with the regular coasting vessels which 
plied the Narragansett Bay and the Sound, and this action in over- 
hauling the brig enraged its captain to such an extent that he resented 
it with force in which he was badly worsted. In the evening after the 
ships were at anchor within the harbor of Newport, Captain Reid went 
ashore, and while standing upon the wharf was met by a large party 
of irritated and indignant citizens, who demanded that he order his 
men ashore to answer before some tribunal for his conduct. 

While the Liberty was thus unprotected she was boarded by a 
party of Newport citizens; the chief officer who alone remained on the 
sloop was set ashore, and the cables cut, in consequence of which the 
sloop grounded. ^ , • ,,, -, , ^^ 

After she had grounded they cut away her mast and f "ttled lier, 
took her small boats to the upper end ot the town and d';«';°yf .^«» 
by fire. In the midst of this excitement the two Connecticut ciafts 
m^ade sail and escaped out of the harbor ' Th.s^'.^ays ArnoU wg 
the first overt act of violence offered to the British authont.es in 

^""Three years later, on the night of July 9, ,1772 -a. made the 
memorable attack upon the British armed sloop, J'^^P^; "f^^J^f^^^' '„ 
Point, by a number of men from Providenee-an f /"' concenmd in 

eyes of the British to the temper of Rhode Island men, lea ^ 



604 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

ment authorities to make determined effort to apprehend those con- 
nected with it; but notwithstanding the large number of persons in- 
volved, their names were carefully kept secret, and to this day only a 
few of them are known/ In this act of armed opposition to British 
claim to the right to stop vessels in Narragansett Bay in the interest 
of foreign revenue was shed the first blood in that struggle for free- 
dom from the yoke that was fast becoming unbearable. 

Between the date of this event and the actual outbreak of the 
Revolution, the authorities of the Colony were actively engaged in 
military preparations. There was widespread anxiety and much 
alarm, not from fear for the ultimate success of the cause, but on 
account of the exposed situation of the Colony to land and water at- 
tack. In 1775 a British army was only a day's march to the north- 
ward, and British ships of war were cruising in Narragansett Bay. 
Here took place the first naval engagement of the war, on June 15, 
1775, when a sloop belonging to Capt. Abraham Whipple, of Gaspee 
fame, attacked a tender of the British frigate Rose, chased her ashore 
on Conanicut Island and captured her.- 

On the 20th of July, 1775, James Wallace, in command of the 
British fleet in Rhode Island, assembled his ships in line of battle 
before the town of Newport and threatened to open fire unless the 
authorities complied with his request for provisions, which they were 
forced to do. Alarm extended to Providence and defensive measures 
were promptly adopted ; fortifications were erected on Fox Hill,^ com- 
manding the harbor, and a battery of heavy guns planted there. The 
only other fort in the Colony at that time was on Goat Island, in New- 
port harbor. On October 4, 1775, Esek Hopkins was commissioned 
brigadier-general in command of a force stationed for the protection 
of Newport, where the British fleet was making trouble for the in- 
habitants by its demands for supplies. The tact and good judgment 
of Hopkins averted actual conflict there for the time being. But the 
prevailing anxiety impelled many of the inhabitants of the town to 
leave the island, taking their property with them, and from that date 
the commercial importance of Newport began to wane. 

Esek Hopkins's term of service as a military commander covered 
only two months and eighteen days, when he was appointed, and the 
appointment confirmed on December 21, 1775, commander-in-chief of 
a fleet of vessels that was to be provided for operations against the 
enemy. It was during his term of service in defense of Newport that 
a minor but brilliant naval event took place. A sloop laden with 

^An extended account of this event will be found in another chapter. 

^For a detailed account of this first naval action see Field's Esek Hopkins. 

^A committee, constituted mainly of sea captains, was appointed to regu- 
late the conduct of the Fox Point battery, and they prepared a set of rules 
which are quaintly entertaining. See the chapter on Wars and the Militia. 




ESEK IlurKlXS, 

Commander-in-Chief of the American Navy During the American Revo- 
lution, ITT/)-! 778. 



606 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

cargo arrived in Seaconnet River, in charge of Capt. Isaac Eslick, of 
Bristol, and was turned over to Hopkins. This was the conclusion of 
the event. Captain Eslick had been in command of a small trading 
sloop, which was captured by a British war vessel and a prize master 
and crew put aboard of her with orders to take her to Boston. Eslick 
was detained on the British sloop of war Viper. Not long after this the 
British sloop sighted and overhauled the sloop Polly, of New York, 
Capt. Samuel Barnew, bound for Antigua. A midshipman, as prize 
master, and several hands were put on board with orders to proceed 
to Boston. Eslick was also transferred to the Polly as pilot, under 
promise that if he faithfully piloted her into Boston harbor, his own 
boat and cargo should be returned to him. He soon established 
friendly relations with two of the original crew of the sloop and the 
three determined to outwit the prize master and take the vessel to 
Rhode Island. It was a bold project and had little apparent chance 
of success, as the British fleet was in Narragansett Bay and adjacent 
waters. Nevertheless, Eslick laid his course and with the aid of his 
two acomplices took the sloop safely into Seaconnet River. By this 
exploit Eslick lost all chance of obtaining the return of his own vessel 
and cargo, while saving the property of others: but the General 
Assembly soon afterward ordered the payment to Eslick of $250, and 
$50 to each of his two associates in the exploit. 

When the Continental Congress confirmed the appointment of 
Esek Hopkins as commander-in-chief of the navy in Decem- 
ber, 1775, the following naval officers were also appointed: 
Captains— Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, Nicholas Biddle, 
and John Burroughs Hopkins. First lieutenants — John Paul 

Jones, Rhodes Arnold, — Stansbury, Hoysted Hacker, 

and Jonathan Pitcher. Second lieutenants — Benjamin Seabury, 

Joseph Olney, Elisha Warner, Thomas Weaver, and 

McDougall. Third lieutenants— John Fanning, Ezekiel Burroughs, 
and Daniel Vaughan. Here were names that were destined to 
shine on the honor rolls of the country, and a number of them were of 
Rhode Island men. Early in January, 1776, Hopkins sailed for 
Philadelphia on the sloop Katy, afterwards the Providence of the 
Rhode Island navy, Capt. Abraham Whipple. On the voyage a small 
vessel and three prisoners were captured. On his arrival he found 
the fleet assembling in the Delaware River, eight vessels of varying 
tonnage having been selected from available merchantment and altered 
over to acommodate larger crews and pierced for heavy guns. The 
Black Prince was chosen for flag ship ; she carried twenty- four guns 
and was placed under command of Capt. Dudley Saltonstall, and re- 
named the Alfred. The remainder of the fleet consisted of the Colum- 
bus, formerly the Sally ; the Providence, before mentioned ; the 
Andrea Doria, fourteen guns; the Cabot, fourteen guns, commanded 



The Sea Force in War Time. 



607 



by the son of the commander-in-chief, John B. Hopkins ; the Wasp the 
Hornet, and the Fly, of eight and ten guns. 

It was the intention of the Naval Committee of the Colonies that 
the fleet should proceed to the vicinity of Charleston, S. C, and co- 
operate with the land forces. The freezing of the Delaware River 
early in January prevented the sailing of the vessels at that time. 
While the eight vessels of the fleet lay among the ice floes in the river, 
the first flag hoisted over an American war vessel was flung to the 
wind on the Alfred. As Hopkins gained the deck of his flag ship, 
Capt. Dudley Saltonstall gave a signal, and First-Lieut. John Paul 
Jones hoisted a yellow silk flag hearing the motto, "Don't tread on 
me", with a representation of a rattlesnake. As this standard flut- 
tered in the cold morning air, the crowds that had assembled along the 
water front cheered with enthusiasm and the guns of the fleet and the 
artillery ashore fired a salute. On the 10th of February, 1776, the 
fleet was ready to sail and was in rendezvous at Cape Henlopen, and 
on the 17th, a favorable wind having arisen, the vessels got under 
weigh and before nightfall had disappeared below the horizon. 

There was another naval project of importance which had been 
discussed by the Naval Committee and in Congress, which was Avithout 
doubt a part of the plans of the commander, although the orders must 
have been given to him secretly. This was the capture of a large 
supply of gunpowder and other war munitions known to be stored on 
the island of Abacco, in the Bahamas. Adverse winds and storms, and 
the fact that the British fleet had sought safety in various Atlantic 
ports, caused the admiral to make his way to the Bahamas and a 
warmer climate. The island of Abacco is the northerly one of the 
Bahama group and lies about thirteen leagues northward of the island 
of New Providence, the objective point of the expedition. The fleet 
arrived at Abacco on March 1, and when discovered by the garrisons in 
the forts, was welcomed with the sound of guns flring an alarm; but 
two hundred marines were landed in boats, with fifty sailors, the latter 
commanded by Lieutenant Thomas AVeaver, of the Cabot, who was 
acquainted with the island. The boats anchored at a small key about 
three leagues to windward of the town of Nassau, whence Hopkins 
dispatched the marines with the Providence and the Wasp to cover 
their landing. The landing of the force was made on the 3d of March, 
and after a slight resistance the smaller fort, between Nassau and the 
place of landing, was invested, the garrison withdrawing to the larger 
fort. Learning that only about two hundred inhabitants of 
the town were in Fort Nassau, and being desirous of avoid- 
ing bloodshed, Hopkins issued a manifesto declaring his purpose 
of securing the munitions and promising safety to persons and prop- 
erty of the people if surrender was made without resistance. This was 
sufficient, and the next morning a messenger came from the governor 



608 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

and informed Captain Nicholas that Fort Nassau was ready for his 
reception. The inhabitants withdrew from the fort, leaving only Gov- 
ernor Montford Brown, to whom an order was sent by Hopkins de- 
manding the keys of the fortress ; these were given up and the troops 
occupied the work and took possession of the stores. These were so 
great in quantity that Hopkins was compelled to impress a large sloop 
lying in the harbor, the Endeavor, to convey them home. While the 
stores were being shipped the Fly, which had disappeared in the storm 
on the second day out, joined the fleet. Her commander reported that 
she had got foul of the Hornet and carried away her boom and the 
head of her mast ; in this disabled condition the Hornet made her way 
to the South Carolina waters. Hopkins sailed from the Bahamas on 
the 17th of March and turned over to the authorities munitions that 
were of the greatest value at that time. Moreover, on the return 
voyage the fleet captured the British schooner Hawk, with six guns 
and eight swivels, and the bomb brig Bolton, with eight guns and two 
howitzers, ten swivels and forty-eight men, and on the 6th of April 
fell in with the Glasgow, a heavily armed vessel of twenty guns and 
one hundred and fifty men. Then followed a sharp fight in which the 
Cabot and the Columbus of the fleet took the most active part. After 
several hours of fighting and maneuvreing Captain Howe, of the Glas- 
gow, escaped with his vessel and crowded on sail for Newport. For 
his conduct in this engagement and his success in escaping from the 
colonial fleet, Captain Howe was highly commended by his superiors 
and by English historians. On the other hand, Hopkins, Whipple, 
and other American officers in the fleet were censured for permitting 
the Glasgow to escape, thus opening a discussion which was to cause 
much trouble to the commander-in-chief. 

Hopkins arrived in New London April 8 with his entire fleet, 
excepting the Hawk, one of his prizes. He prepared a full report of 
his voyage, which he sent to Congress, and the publication of a part of 
it was ordered so that the colonies might be informed of the value and 
prowess of the new navy. The news of the success of this voyage was 
received with delight throughout the colonies. In a letter of con- 
gratulation and instructions from John Hancock, president of the 
Congress, to Hopkins, dated April 17, he wrote: "Though it is to be 
regretted, that the Glasgow Man of AVar made her escape, yet as it 
was not thro' any Misconduct, the Praise due to you and the other 
officers is undoubtedly the same". Hopkins was the hero of the day. 
But in course of time, as knowledge of the escape of the Glasgow be- 
came more widely spread, and the circumstances surrounding that 
feature of the engagement were discussed by tlie people, all of the 
succssful work of the commander was forgotten by the fickle public, 
and a feeling of bitter prejudice arose against him, which no argument 
could brush away. Moreover, Capt. Abraham Whipple, of the Colum- 



The Sea Force in War Time. 



609 



bus, was severely criticised by some of his brother officers for his con- 
duct in the tight, and demanded a court martial of Hopkins in a letter 
on the 30th of April. This was granted, and the court was held 
May 6, on board the Alfred at Providence, and the captain was 
promptly acquitted of the charge of misconduct. 

Captain Hazard, of the Providence, was also a subject of court 
martial for misconduct during the tight with the Glasgow, resulting 
in his being relieved of his conmiand, and the appointment of Lieut" 
John Paul Jones in his stead. 

Arriving at New London, Hopkins proceeded to dispose of the 
material captured at the 
Bahamas. Some of the cap- 
tured guns he left at New 
London, a number was sent 
to Dartmoiith, Mass., and 
twenty-six were taken on the 
Cabot to Newport to be used 
in defense of the island. 
This latter action caused 
nuich criticism from the au- 
thorities in Philadelphia and 
was one of the contributing 
causes of the later troubles 
of the commander of the 
navy. Conditions on the 
tieet now became deplorable 
on account of sickness among 
the men, and as many as two 
hundred and two were sent 
from the several vessels to 
temporary hospitals in New 
London ; but Hopkins was 
able, through the influence of 
General Washington, to re- 
place them with one hundred 
and seventy men from the 
army, and on April 24 the 
fleet sailed for Rhode Island. 
Arriving before Providence 

'This gun is located at the corner of Main and Centre streets in the town of 
Fairhaven, Mass., and is one of the guns captured by the expedition to New 
Providence under the command of Esek Hopkins. A bronze tablet has been 
fixed upon it bearing this inscription: ,^ , „, ., 

"Taken from the British at Nassau by Colonial Ship of War Alfred-Placed 

39-1 




One of the Guns Captured by Esek 
Hopkins at New Providence.' 

the 28th, Hopkins proceeded 



on 



610 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

to provision his ships and put them in condition for a 
cruise of three or four months. While thus engaged he received 
a peremptory order from Washington to send the men who 
had just been assigned to the navy to New York. This, with the fact 
that more than one hundred men of the fleet were sick and unfit for 
duty, rendered the situation of the fleet most discouraging. On the 
12th of May the commander sent the Providence, Capt. John Paul 
Jones, to NeAv York with the men received from the army. In addition 
to this he was ordered to send to Philadelphia twenty of the guns taken 
by him to Rhode Island. Trouble began also among the men of the 
fleet over the neglect or inability of the authorities to pay the wages 
of the crews. Under these circumstances only two vessels, the Doria 
and the Cabot, could be sufficiently manned to go into service, and 
they sailed on the 19th of May. The fleet as a whole was practically 
useless ; the hands of the commander were tied. His letter to Congress 
at this time shows his discouragement: "I am ready to follow any 
Instructions that you give at all times, but am very much in doubt 
whether it will be in my power to keep the fleet together with any 
credit to myself or the officers that belong to it— Neither do I believe 
it can be done without power to dismiss such officers as I find slack in 
their duty". 

Before the fleet arrived in Narragansett Bay from New London 
the British fleet under Wallace had withdrawn from Newport, and 
for the first time in many years the Rhode Island waters were free 
from British war vessels. At about the same time (May 14, 1776) 
Hopkins was summoned before the Marine Committee to answer to a 
charge of breach of orders. This was the beginning of a long series of 
troubles and disasters from which he never recovered. 

Some of the causes operating to create public feeling against Hop- 
kins, in addition to his share in the failure to capture the Glasgow, 
were his opposition to privateering, and his becoming more or less 
entangled with the petty jealousies among other officers of the fleet. 
In accordance with resolves of Congress, two ships for the fleet, the 
Providence and the Warren, were to be built at Providence, and work 
on them was carried on under direction of a committee of prominent 
Providence business men, while Hopkins was on the Bahama cruise. 
These ships were still unflnished when he returned, and he gave much 
attention to their completion, frequently attending the sittings of the 
committee. He became greatly exasperated to learn that some mem- 
bers of the committee Avere engaged in privateering ventures and were 
using their position and influence to further their private ends. Hop- 
kins openly accused them of malpractice and claimed that the cost of 

on Fort Phoenix 1778— Recaptured by British and left on the fort Spiked, and 
with trunnions knocked off— After-Wards, mounted in Union Street for vil- 
lage Defence.— Placed here 1883." 



The Sea Force in War Time. 611 

the two vessels was twice what it should have been, owing to "some 
of the very committee that built the ships, taking the workmen and the 
stock to fit out their own privateers". These were grave charges and 
at once lost Hopkins the friendship of many of the influenti'al men 
of Providence, who abandoned the management of the work 
on the ships and turned them over to Stephen Hopkins, then a delegate 
to Congress. At this time the ships were ready for sea, but without 
crews. There was much jealousy among the officers of the fleet, and 
all were clamoring for advancement and using their influence to obtain 
it. So strong was this influence that Hopkins strove to avoid becoming 
entangled in its attendant controversies by overlooking certain irregu- 
larities, thus Aveakening himself in the estimation of both his friends 
and opponents. It was not until the 13th of June that Hopkins and 
Capts. Whipple and Saltonstall were ordered to Phliadelphia to be 
tried for breach of orders, the command of the fleet devolving upon 
Capt. Nicholas Biddle, the ranking officer. He was without authority 
excepting on his own ship, and insubordination and confusion in the 
fleet was intensified in the absence of the three officers. Whipple and 
Saltonstall were exonerated by Congress on July 11, but it was not 
until the 12th of August that Hopkins appeared before Congress. The 
examination was made before the Marine Committee, as it was then 
called, whose report was read to him, after which he addressed the 
delegates in Congress in his own defense. The report and his answer 
were fully discussed, John Adams manfully taking up his defense. 
On August 16 Congress passed the following resolution : 

"Resolved, That the said conduct of Commodore Hopkins de- 
serves the censure of this house and this house does accordingly cen- 
sure him". 

On the 19th of August Congress directed Hopkins to "repair to 
Rhode Island and take command of the fleet formerly put under his 
care". It would appear that the committee were somewhat ashamed 
of their judgment in the matter, mild as it was, for on the 19th of 
August they ordered Hopkins to dispatch four of his vessels to cruise 
in the neighborhood of New Foundland and operate against the fish- 
eries and British merchantmen. xVt the same time he was authorized 
to purchase the Hawk, one of the vessels captured by him on his way 
from the Bahamas, fit it up and rename it the Hopkins, and send it 
with the others to New Foundland, and to "hoist his broad pennant 
on board any of the vessels". Among the prominent officers who 
looked upon the action of the Marine Committee as almost a vindica- 
tion of the commodore was Capt. John Paul Jones, who wrote him a 
very flattering letter of confidence and esteem. On account of lack 
of available seamen, the vessels were not sent to New Foundland, 
Hopkins finding it difficult to get the men on account of the fitting out 



612 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of so many privateers, which offered greater indnceiuents than the 
regular service. The failure of this expedition provoked much criti- 
cism from the committee, and on the 10th of October they addressed 
Hopkins a letter, ordering him to take the Alfred, the Columbus, the 
Cabot, and the Hampden and proceed to Cape Fear, where he would 
find the Falcon, the Scorpion, and the Cruiser, with a number of 
valuable prizes under their protection, "'the whole of which you will 
make prize of with ease". This letter arrived during the absence of 
Hopkins, but it was opened by his son, Capt. John B. Hopkins, who 
sent it to his father by special messenger. This expedition also failed 
to start and from the same causes ; so far as now appears, the com- 
mander was powerless to act in compliance with his orders. For this 
failure prejudices and criticism against him were greatly intensified. 
In the hope of carrying out the orders of the Marine Committee, Hop- 
kins appeared before the Rhode Island General Assembly, then in 
session at KingstoAvn, and "applied for an embargo till the Con- 
tinental fleet was manned". But he failed in obtaining the passage 
of the re(iuired act for lack of two votes only. He was in despair, 
and that his difficulty was a real one is shown by the following from 
his letter on the subject to the Marine Committee : 

"I am at a loss how we shall get the ships manned as I think 
near one-third of the men which have been ship'd and rec'd their 
monthly pay have been one way or another carried away in the pri- 
vateers I wish I had your orders when Ever I found any man on board 
the privateers giving me leave not only to take him out But all the 
rest of the men ; that might make them more Careful of taking the 
men out of the service of the State". 

So time dragged on, one disaster after another coming to cast 
odium on the little navy in the success of which Rhode Island had so 
deep and large an interest. Finally, on December 7, 1776, a British 
fleet of about seventy sail came into Narragansett Bay, passed around 
the north end of Conanicut Island and into Newport harbor. On the 
next day a force of about six thousand men landed and took possession 
of the town. The American fleet was completely blockaded. Excite- 
ment throughout the Colony was intense. On the 10th of December 
Hopkins wrote from his flagship, the Warren, lying five miles below 
Providence, as follows : 

"Three days ago the English fleet, of about fifty-four sail of 
transports and sixteen sail men of war arrived in the bay and two 
days ago they landed, I believe, about 4000 troops, and took possession 
of the island of Rhode Island without opposition. The inhabitants of 
the town of Newpoi't favored their operation, I believe, too much. The 
Militia are come in, in order to prevent the further operations. I 
thought it best to come up the river after the fleet was within about 



The Sea Force in War Time. 613 

two leagues of us, with the Warren, Providence, Columbus, brigantine 
Hampden, and sloop Providence. The inhabitants are in daily ex- 
pectation of an attack on the town of Providence. I have got the 
ships in the best position of defence we can make them, without they 
were fully manned, which they are not more than half. We lay where 
the ships cant come up that draw much more Avater than we do. If 
we get the ships manned, shall take some favourable opportunity and 
attempt getting to sea with some of the ships ; but at present think we 
are of more service here than at sea without we were manned". 

The situation of Rhode Island was now alarming. The State 
troops were all called into service, and the fortifications which had 
b(ien thrown up along the bay side were hurriedly manned ; the whole 
State became a vast camp confronting the enemy. For nearly three 
years the British remained in possession of the town of Newport and 
the adjacent territory. 

Not long afterwards an incident took place which reflected upon 
Hopkins and was used against him in later proceedings. On January 
2, 1777, a British vessel was seen to have grounded on one of the 
islands opposite the Warwick shore; near here a battery of two 
eighteen-pound guns had been erected and a garrison established. The 
news was conveyed to Hopkins and he attempted to go down the river 
to investigate. As he was advised by a reputable pilot that the wind 
was so far westerly and blew so hard that he could not take his ships 
down, he boarded the pinnace of the Warren with twenty-two men, 
and went to the Providence, which lay about a mile below Field's 
Point, taking the pilot with him. The Providence, Captain Whipple, 
was fully manned and was at once got under weigh and proceeded 
down towards the stranded vessel. She was found to be the frigate 
Diamond. About a mile and a half distant, southwest by south, lay 
a tifty-gun ship, which could have been floated in the existing wind to 
the vicinity of the Diamond. Hopkins did not attempt to take his 
ships down to the stranded vessel, as "the Enemy's ships could have 
come to sail with any wind that we could and a great deal better as 
they lay in a wide channel and we in a very narrow and very crooked 
one". After going ashore at the fort, Hopkins returned to his sloop 
and thus describes his further movements : 

"We dropped down under the ships stern a little more than a 
musket shot off it being then a little after sunset, we fired from the 
sloop a number of shot which she returned from her stern chasers; 
the ship careened at Dusk about as much as she would have done had 
she been under sail, after they had fired from the sliore about twenty 
six shots they ceased and soon after hailed the sloop and said they 
wanted to speak with me. I went ashore and was informed they were 
out of Ammunition. I ofi:ered them powder and stutt for wads but 
we had no shot that would do, they sent to Providence tor powder and 



614 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

shot and I went aboard the sloop and sent some junk ashore for wads, 
soon after they hailed again from the shore and I went to see what 
they wanted, and gave Captain Whipple orders not to fire much more 
as I thought it would do but little execution it being night and could 
not take good aim with the guns. When I got ashore the officer that 
commanded them desired that I would let them have some bread out 
of the sloop which I sent the boat off for but the people not making the 
boat well fast while they were getting the bread she drifted away and 
I could not get aboard again. The ship by Lighting got off about 2 
o'clock the same night". 

Although this event was not considered of much importance in 
any light by Hopkins, or by the inhabitants of Providence, it was made 
nuich of by many persons in the State and by the Marine Committee 
and constituted another factor in closing the career of Esek Hopkins. 
During the early part of that winter the Alfred and the Cabot got to 
sea and succeeded in sailing around to Boston, whence they cruised 
independently. About this time Hopkins wrote to William Ellery, 
then a delegate to Congress from Rhode Island : 

"We are now blocked up by the enemys fleet the officers and men 
are uneasy, however I shall not desert the cause but I wish with all my 
heart the Hon Marine Board could and would get a man in my room 
that would do the Country more good than it is in my power to do, 
for I entered the service for its good and have no desire to keep in it 
to the disadvantage of the cause I am in". 

The fleet never again got to sea. While individual ships per- 
formed service of great value and importance and some of their officers 
won lasting renown, the naval squadron which sailed proudly from 
Delaware Bay nearly a year before, practically ended its life in Narra- 
gansett Bay. No record is preserved of the fate of the Columbus, 
Hornet, and Fly. The Alfred was captured by the Ariadne and Ceres 
m 1778. The Cabot was driven ashore on the coast of Nova Scotia by 
the ]\Tilford in 1777 and abandoned ; she was afterwards hauled oft' and 
taken into the British navy. The Andrea Doria was burned in the 
Delaware in 1777 to prevent her falling into the hands of the enemy. 
The Providence (sloop) w^as captured in the Penobscot in 1779. The 
Wasp is supposed to have been sunk in the Delaware to prevent cap- 
ture by the enemy. The Providence (ship) was captured in Charles- 
ton in 1780, and the AYarren was burned in the Penobscot in 1779.^ 

Hopkins remained under suspension until January 2, 1778, when 
he was dismissed from the service of the United States. Notwith- 
standing his dismissal from the command of the navy, he continued to 
merit and receive the confidence of his townsmen in North Providence 
and represented them in the General Assembly from 1777 to 1786. In 
1782 he was elected one of the trustees of Rhode Island College (later 
'Naval Hist., U. 8., Cooper, vol. i, p. 247. 



616 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

Brown University), whicli position he held at the time of his death. 
On the 26th of February, 1802, after severe suffering towards the end, 
he passed away. 

There is little to add to the story of Rhode Island's connection 
with the navy during the Revolution. In May, 1778, when it became 
necessary to send dispatches to France, the ship Providence (built at 
Providence, as before stated), Capt. Abraham Whipple, sailed out of 
Narragansett Bay on a dark and stormy night, evading the British 
men-of-war, and got safely to sea, passing the southern end of Pru- 
dence Island, where a British ship lay, and fired a broadside into her, 
and then kept on his course. The voyage to France was made and the 
Providence returned to Boston. The other vessel built at Providence, 
the Warren, went out to sea before the Providence, and in 1779 was 
engaged in the Penobscot expedition and was burned. Both of these 
vessels were officered and manned chietiy by Rhode Island men. 

In addition to the Rhode Island vessels mentioned, there were 
ordered in August, 1775, two large row-gallies for sixty men each; 
these were built and named the Washington and the Spitfire. The 
former was afterwards given a schooner rig. She was commanded by 
Capt. Joseph Mauran, while Capt. Isaac Tyler was assigned to the 
Spitfire. The Washington was destroyed by the enemy as shown in 
the folloAving: 

"In Council of War, July 15th, 1777. 

"The galley Washington being destroyed by the enemy, in their 
late excursion to Warren, whereby Capt. Joseph Mauran who had the 
command of her, it put out of business, and the state having no armed 
vessel to put in pay for the present; it is therefore resolved that the 
said Joseph Mauran, be dismissed from the service of this state; and 
he is hereby recommended as a good and faithful sea officer, to all the 
friends of the United American States. Signed by order of the 
Council of War, ' ' Wm, Coddington, Clerk. ' '^ 

The arrival of the French fleet in 1778 and the planning of Sul- 
livan's expedition which was to co-operate with the fleet in an attack 
upon the British in Newport and the bay, raised confident expectations 
through New England; but these were destined to fail of realization, 
for the fleet was broken up in the great storm of that season and de- 
parted in a disabled condition for Boston. Newport was finally 
evacuated by the enemy on the 27th of October, 1779, and the in- 
habitants returned and began rebuilding their shattered fortunes. On 
July 10, 1780, another French fleet arrived in Newport harbor, glad- 
dening every heart in Rhode Island; it consisted of forty-four sail, 
with an army of six thousand men, under Count de Rochambeau, and 
the town was protected from further devastation. The principal 
events of the closing years of the Revolution took place on land. 
^Spirit of '76 in Rhode Island, Cowell, p. 158. 



The Sea Force in War Time. 617 

It will have been inferred from the preceding pages relating to 
the career of Esek Hopkins, that privateering was rampant during a 
large part of the Revolutionary period; and Rhode Island, true to her 
well known instincts and interests, sent out her bold and active craft 
by the score to prey upon the enemy. Prizes and rich cargoes came in 
to enrich the inhabitants, and it is to the discredit of the State that 
many of the influential men more diligently strove to bring fortunes 
to themselves by engaging in this privateering business than they did 
to aid the government at a time when the country needed unselfish 
patriotism. There is a striking contrast between the acts of such men 
of Rhode Island and those of other men in other colouies at this crisis. 

The naval operations in the war of 1812-15 were entirely without 
the State, but one of the officers of the United States navy from Rhode 
Island obtained a victory on the water of such a bold, hazardous and 
successful character as to give him imperishable fame and add lustre 
to the history of the State. 

When the political horizon began again to darken and British 
encroachments upon the rights of American vessels were becoming 
frequent and insolent, Providence had entered upon an era of pros- 
perity and Newport was beginning to recover from her prostration 
caused by the Revolution. Again the defenseless situation of this 
town excited grave alarm, and the authorities sent a memorial to the 
general government calling attention to their need of protection. Not 
long after war was declared a British fleet was stationed a sliort dis- 
tance below the island, and on one occasion made a demonstration 
indicating a determination to enter the harbor. The local military 
was mustered and defensive preparations made, but the vessels finally 
stood off to their station. The neighboring farmers were compelled 
to supply the enemy with provisions and the fishing boats to sell them 
their fish, keeping the inhabitants in a state of anxiety and alarm. 

After the close of the Revolution the navy was long neglected ; but 
when trouble arose over the Algerian situation Congress appropriated, 
at Washington 's suggestion, the sum of $7()U,UUU and a small navy was 
begun. With the early settlement of those difficulties, work was sus- 
pended in 1795. The folly of this course was soon to l)e demonstrated 
by the conduct of the old enemy, and the construction of war vessels 
was renewed. Before the close of 1797 the Constitution, forty-four 
guns, the Constellation, thirty-eight guns, and the United States, forty- 
four guns, were ready for sea. 

Early in this war it was seen that supremacy on Lakes Ontario 
and Erie would be an important factor in the sti-uggle. There were 
a number of merchant vessels on the lakes, the purchase of which by 
the government and their armament was undertaken. To prevent 
this and capture these craft the enemy began active operations. On 
the 12th of August, 1812, Isaac Chauncey, an experienced seaman, was 



618 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

commissioned commander-in-chief on the lakes, and under his direction 
a squadron of six schooners was gathered at Sackett's Harbor. There 
were also two already in service and the Madison, twenty-four guns, 
was built at that place. On the 6th of December of that year the 
British man-of-war Macedonian, which had been captured after a 
bloody engagement by the frigate United States under Capt. Stephen 
Decatur, was brought into Newport harbor and the wounded landed 
at Coaster's Harbor and placed in hospital. The other vessels of the 
American navy began and continued a series of brilliant exploits on 
the sea, the success of which caused consternation to the enemy and 
exultation throughout this country. 

Early in 1813 Oliver Hazard Perry,^ a young officer of Newport, 
then in eonnnand of a flotilla of gunboats, was called to command a 
fleet on Lake Erie, which at that time had no existence. Taking with 
him a number of ship carpenters, he proceeded to Presque Isle (now 
Erie), where he built and gathered a fleet of nine small vessels. Be- 
sides himself Perry had with him eight officers and eleven petty officers 
and seamen from Newport. Perry met Chauncey at Albany, N. Y., 
and together they went in a sleigh through the wilderness t(3 Sackett 's 
Harbor. Perry arrived at Presque Isle in March, and with all pos- 
sible dispatch built four vessels and five others were taken from Black 
Rock, near Buft'alo, where they had been altered from merchantmen. 
Early in May the three smaller vessels were launched, and on the 24th 

^Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born August 23, 1785. The house 
now standing upon the site of the old manor house was built by Com. Perry 
after the battle of Lake Erie, of which a photograph is here given. At that 
time the homestead was sadly out of repair, and it was taken down and 
replaced by the present gambrel roofed liouse whicli was intended to be 
occupied by "any of the family who should come there for hunting or fishing." 
Much of the lumber of the old house was used in the present structure and in 
repairing the old barn near the house. The estate is now owned by Mrs. 
George Tiffany of New York, a niece of Commodore Perry. 

Oliver Hazard Perry was a son of Christopher Raymond and Sarah Alex- 
ander Perry. In the paternal line his tirst ancestor in this country was 
Edward Perry, a Quaker preacher, who came from Devonshire, England, and 
settled in Sandwich, Massachusetts. After his death his children came to 
Rhode Island. Two sons, Samuel and Benjamin, settled in South Kingstown, 
and Oliver was a descendant of Benjamin. His mother, Sarah Wallace Alex- 
ander, was a direct descendant of Sir William Wallace, the Scottish patriot. 
It is a fact not widely known perhaps that Rhode Island's famous Revolu- 
tionary soldier, General Nathaniel Greene, was also a descendant of Edward 
Perry. 

Dr. Turner is quoted as saying: "It is remarkable that the two names 
which confer so much lustre on Rhode Island, one in the military, the other 
in the naval service, should have derived a direct strain of descent from the 
same source, and that the peaceful and peace-loving Quaker, Edward Perry." 
As a child Oliver Hazard Perry was very delicate in health and gave no 
promise of a vigorous manhood. In this sense the saying that "the child is 
father of the man" was not verified, for strength came with his years and 
"he was a fair type of manhood, possessing an uncommon share of vigor" and 
manhood. After attending the best schools in Newport during his childhood, 




OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, COMMODORE U. S. NAVY. 

The Sword is Inscribed "Presented to Oliver H. Perry, Esq., by the 
Common Council of Albany', Nov. 8, 1813." Reproduced from the Original 
in the Possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 



620 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

of that month two brigs were floated. The whole fleet was finished 
the 24th of July and consisted of the brig Lawrence (the flag ship), 
twenty guns ; brig Niagara, twenty guns ; brig Caledonia, three guns ; 
schooner Ariel, four guns; schooner Scorpion, two guns and two 
swivels; sloop Trippe, one gun; schooner Tigress, one gun; schooner 
Porcupine, one gun. A British squadron on the lake menaced this 
little fleet, and Perry found great difficulty in getting men and sup- 
plies for his vessels. "Think of my situation", he wrote Chauncey, 
"the enemy in sight, the vessels under my command more than suffi- 
cient and ready to make sail, and yet obliged to bite my flngers with 
vexation for want of men". He was soon partially gratified by the 
arrival from Black Rock of one hundred men under Captain Elliott, 
and early in August he went out on the lake before he was fairly 
prepared for vigorous action. On the 19th he met Harrison on his 
flagship and arrangements were made for the fall campaign. On a 
bright morning, September 10, while cruising about the lake, a sail 
was cried from the mast head of the Lawrence, and the British fleet 
appeared on the horizon. The opposing forces were not far from 
equal and the battle began at noon at long range. As the two fleets 
came nearer and nearer the firing waxed hotter, and for nearly two 

he began his naval career as midshipman on board the General Green, which 
was commanded by his father, Captain Christopher R. Perry. "This training 
was of great usefulness to him, as it afforded valuable object lessons in naval 
tactics. His father, Captain Perry, began a soldier's life in the War of the 
Revolution, and was well prepared to instruct his son in the arts of war. 
An occasional encounter with British ships while cruising in the West India 
station, disclosed his promptness and bravery, which were not lost upon the 
son." In 1801 a small squadron was ordered to the Mediterranean to protect 
our commerce from the Tripolitan Corsairs, and O. H. Perry was attached to 
the Adams frigate, one of three, commanded by Captain Campbell. There 
were many encounters with the pirates, in which the Americans gained many 
victories. This war lasted until 1805. During this time young Perry im- 
proved so much, that he was promoted to an acting lieutenancy. We next 
find Lieutenant Perry in command of a flotilla of seventeen gunboats on the 
Newport Station, to enforce the law of Congress, passed in 1807, establishing 
an embargo as the only means calculated to save our commerce from seizure 
by the British and French vessels. Perry remained at Newport until he was 
appointed to the command of the U. S. schooner "Revenge" — attached to the 
squadron of his uncle, Commodore Rogers, at New London. The embargo, 
not having produced the effects desired was revoked in March, 1809. Other 
measures were adopted to induce the English to cease their hostilities, but 
without avail, and in 1812, Congress declared war against Great Britain. 
This was received by the British rather contemptuously — as they felt their 
own superiority in strength and numbers, styling themselves the "Lords of 
the ocean." Soon after the beginning of the war, our government thought 
best to secure the command of the Lakes, and Perry obtained permission to 
join the naval forces there under the command of Commodore Chauncey. In 
March, 1813, Perry was appointed with the rank of Master Commandant to 
superintend the building and fitting out of a naval force and to command 
upon Lake Erie, where the British had undisputed possession. Early in 
August the vessels Niagara and Lawrence, together with several others, were 
fitted for service — although they were but poorly manned for the great battle 



1 



The Sea Force in War Time. 621 

hours the Lawrence bore the brunt of the battle, until she lay almost 
a wreck upon the water. The deck was a scene of carnage and it 
needed a heroic soul to continue the conflict. The other vessels had 
fought nobly, excepting the Niagara, Captain F.lliott, the staunchest 
one of the fleet, which had kept outside and was yet unhurt. As she 
drew near the Lawrence, Perry donned the uniform of his rank, that 
he might properly receive the British commander as a prisoner, took 
down his broad pennant and the banner bearing the memorable words 
of Lawrence, "Don't give up the ship", entered a boat with his 
brother, Matthew Calbraith Perry (then fourteen years of age), and 
with four brawny seamen at the oars was i)ulled away on a perilous 
trip to the Niagara. Perry stood upright in the boat, the pennant and 
banner partly wrapped about him. Barclay, the British commander, 
had been wounded, and when informed of Perry's daring act and 
realizing the conseciuence of his reaching the Niagara, ordered big and 
little guns to be trained upon the row boat. Amid this shower of 
shot for about fifteen minutes the boat moved on and the gallant com- 
mander reached the deck of the Niagara in safety. Hoisting his pen- 
nant he dashed through the enemy's line and eight minutes later the 
colors of the British flag ship were struck, all but two of the fleet sur- 

which soon followed. Already several victories had been gained by our 
despised little navy of the lakes. Our naval officers proved most valiant men 
for the work entrusted to them, but it remained for Oliver Hazard Perry with 
his squadron to complete the destruction of the enemy on the lakes by the 
decisive battle on Lake Erie. September 10th, 1813. In a letter to General 
Harrison, who was in command of the land forces against the British, Perry 
said: "We have met the enemy and they are ours, two ships, two brigs, one 
schooner and one sloop." The news of this victory produced general rejoicing 
throughout our country. In all the large cities illuminations took place with 
other demonstrations of joy. Perry was promoted to the rank of captain in 
the navy of the United States. Congress adopted resolutions tendering their 
thanks to him and through him to the officers, seamen and marines attached 
to the squadron under his command. A gold medal was also awarded Perry 
emblematic of the action between the two squadrons, other honors were 
tendered him, and testimonials bestowed upon him by the citizens of different 
cities. In the summer of 1819 Captain Perry was ordered on an expedition to 
Angostura, then the capital of the Venezuelan Republic. ITpon his arrival 
there he was received with much attention, and after the fulfillment of his 
mission he proceeded down the Orinoco on his way to Port Spain where his 
warship, the John Adams, was stationed. Soon after sailing he was attacked 
with yellow fever, from which he died after being transferred to the John 
Adams. He was buried at Port Spain, with every mark of respect f[«n;the 
civil and military authorities. Later his remains J^'j^.^f ^«"/^«„ ^.'^P^.^' 
where a monument marks his resting place^ He died at thj/se «\34 yea s 
two davs after the anniversary of his birth. He left a wife, who was Miss 
SatS Mason o'fTwport. and four children, three sons and a cl-f t^n 
At the unveiling of the statue erected to his memory "^^^.^^^ .'" ^^86, the 
Mnn Wm P Sheffield in an address said: Olivei Hazain ^e i Y neeus no 

"°„m,St ot blTe or taWet ^o,^rrT:^l.^':.TZlVe°JTlZm Tol 

P-inrv Historv has taken these into its keeping and will pieserve mem lor 
nostent? while genius in battle and heroic valor and unfaltering energy in 
?he perfoVmanceff Mgh duty receives the homage of the American people. 



622 State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

rendering. These made an attempt to escape, but Avere pursued and 
brought back late in the evening by the Scorpion. Victory once as- 
sured, Perry sat down, took from his pocket an old letter and resting 
it upon the top of his cap, wrote his famous message to General Har- 
rison : ' ' We have met the enemy and they are ours ; two Ships, two 
Brigs, one Schooner and one Sloop". 

For this gallant exploit Perry received the thanks of the govern- 
ment, a gold medal w^as presented to him, and the Common Council of 
Albany presented him a beautiful sword. ^ Another gold medal was 
presented to Captain Elliott, with a silver medai to each man who took 




The Judge Freeman Perry Homestead Premises. 

The birthplace of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. The home in which the Commodore 
was born was demolished soon after the battle of Lake Erie, and some of the lumber was 
used in building this gambrel roofed structure. The house is situated at Matunoc, in Perry- 
ville, South Kingstown. 



part. In the engagement the Americans lost twenty-seven killed and 
ninety-six wounded. The British loss was about two hundred killed 
and six hundred made prisoners. Perry was promoted to a captaincy 
and afterwai'ds assisted Harrison in retaking Detroit late in that year. 
In 1815 he commanded the Java in Decatur's Mediterranean squadron, 
and in 1819 was sent against the pirates in the East Indies, M'^here he 
died of yellow fever on the 23d of August, of that year, at thirty- four 

'This sword with the cotton jacket worn by Perry on that victorious day 
are carefully preserved in the Cabinet of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 



The Sea Force in War Time. 623 

years of age. INIatthew Calbraith Perry, the brother of the commodore 
before mentioned, entered the navy as a midshipman in 1809, and con- 
tinued in the service during most of his life. 

During the years 1813 and 1814, Commodore Chauiu-ey conliimed 
his operations on Lake Ontario, in which he was in the main successful, 
and McDonough fought his brilliant engagement on Lake Champlaiu 
in July, 1814. 

After waging offensive warfare upon the enemy nearly two years 
the Americans were compelled to act more upon the defensive. The 
entire sea coast from the St. Croix to the St. ]\Tary's and the Culf of 
Mexico to New Orleans, was menaced by British squadrons and troops. 
The fortifications about Providence and Newpoi-t were placed in better 
condition for resistance to possible attack. On the 4th of October, 
1813, the privateer Dart, belonging to the enemy and having in charge 
a ship, a brig, and a schooner, hovered about Newport waters. The 
revenue cutter "Vigilant, Capt. John Cahoone, manned with Newport 
volunteers and seamen, pursued and captured her with little resist- 
ance. There were many other privateers sent out from Rhode Island 
in this war, but they were not so active as in former times. The en- 
forcement of the embargo act of December 17, 1813, and the blockade 
of ports, caused almost complete suspension of C(mmiercial l)usiness in 
Newport and Providence. On the 30th of IMciy, 1814, a Swedish ])i-ig 
attempted to violate the blockade and was chased ashore by the British 
brig Nimrod in the East Passage on Smith's beach; she was burned the 
next day. At about the same time the barges from the Ninn-od chased 
two sloops ashore in the same passage, but the militia in Little Comp- 
ton gathered in force and prevented the enemy from taking possession 
of the sloops. 

Rhode Island had every reason to be proud of the part slic took 
in the naval operations during this Avar. Peace was declared in Febru- 
ary, 1815, and the news was welcomed with joy throughout the 
country. 

With the beginning of the Southern Rebellion in 1861 it became 
apparent at the outset that a close blockade of all ports fi-om Cape 
Charles to the Rio Grande would be necessary. In the words of 
General Scott, it was of the greatest importance to "stop the rat 
holes". This required a large navy and created an embarrassing 
emergency. It was far easier for the government to raise a va,st 
army than to put afloat a navy of two hundred vessels; but the work 
was undertaken with vigor. Steamers and sailing cratt were pur- 
chased and altered for the service, and in addition to these the gov- 
ernment availed itself of offers from many patriotic citizens^ 

"When the first call for troops was made m April, 18bl bapt. 
Thomas P. Ives, of Providence (son of Moses B. Ives), was in iH health 
and could not volunteer, as he would have otherwise done, in the hrst 



The Sea Force in War Time. 



625 



regiment to leave the State for the seat of war. He was a lover of the 
sea and well versed in nautical affairs. In the preceding antnmn he 
had bnilt for his own use a large and fast yacht, and while still con- 
fined to his house he sent for General James and made a contract with 
him to arm the yacht with cannon of his invention. As soon as his 
health was restored he offered this vessel and his own services to the 
government. The offer was accepted and Captain Ives was temporarily 
commissioned as lieutenant in the revenue service and stationed during 
the summer of 18fil in Chesapeake Bay, where he was engaged in the 
suppression of the contraband traffic then active in that region. For 
his service there he won frequent expressions of approval from the 
commander at Fort McHenry. This feature of naval service soon 
became unnecessary, but previous to that Captain Ives was invited 
by General Burnside to accompany him on his North Carolina expedi- 
tion. For this purpose he was commissioned captain of the steamer 
Pickett, which took a prominent part as a gunboat in most of the ma- 
rine operations of Burnside, particularly at Roanoke Island and in 
the approaches to Newbern. Early in the summer of 1862, this service 
having been accomplished, Ives resigned his commission, but soon 
again offered his services at sea. In August he was commissioned and 
assigned to command the gunboat Yankee, which was attached to the 
Potomac flotilla. He was subsequently promoted to fleet captain of 
the flotilla and gave efficient service. In December, 1863, he was de- 
tached and assigned to duty in Providence as inspector of ordnance. 

Other citizens of Rhode Island made generous offers of aid to the 
State government in its period of greatest need. Among these the 
manufacturing firm of A. & W. Sprague offered a loan of $100,000, 
and similar otters were made by some of the Rhode Island banks. 

It is impossible at this time to follow the fortunes of many of the 
Rhode Island volunteers in the nav>' of the Rebellion. This is due 
chiefly to the fact that as far as relates to seamen at least, no records 
are accessible showing to what vessels they were assigned, and also that 
bv far the larger part of the enlistments of sailors from this State were 
made at New Bedford. The report of the adjutant-general shows 
that sixty-six volunteer officers and thirty-seven regular officers were 
appointed to the naval service from the State, while there are credited 
to the quota of the State more than two thousand seamen : but very 
many of these were not natives of Rhode Island. 

The first official reference to Rhode Island naval affairs in con- 
nection with the late Spanish War was a letter addressed by Governor 
Dyer to the secretary of the navy, on January 1, 1898, asking if an 
inspecting officer had been appointed for the naval battalion of the 
State, and if so, whether he could assist that official in any way. Steps 
had already been taken to furnish troops in response to any call that 
40-1 



626 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

might be made by the government, and to place the State militia and 
the naval battalion on a war basis. In answer to a request from the 
adjutant-general of the State, March 1, 1898, W. McCarty Little, com- 
mander of the Naval Battalion, supplied a list of all steam vessels 
entered at the Newport custom house, and other information regard- 
ing various vessels. 

On the 5th of March, 1898, Governor Dyer took steps to secure a 
thirty-foot cutter for the Providence division of the naval militia. On 
the 31st of that month the adjutant- general of the State was requested 
by the Navy Department to put the naval militia of the State in condi- 
tion to meet any sudden call of the general government, and directing 
an inspection of all vessels in the ports of the State with reference to 
their utilization in a mosquito fleet. On the 1st of April Governor 
Dyer informed the Navy Department that the naval militia of the 
State was ready for service. About the middle of that month informa- 
tion was received from the Navy Department of the intention of estab- 
lishing coast signal stations, and asking the co-operation of State 
authorities. The final result of this action was the erection and man- 
ning of a station on Block Island. The first call of the president for 
troops was dated April 20, 1898, and military and naval enthusiasm 
prevailed at once throughout the State. The next day an appropria- 
tion of $150,000 was voted by the General Assembly for military and 
naval expenses. On the 26th the Assembly amended a section of 
Chapter 296 of the General Laws so that it provided that "in addition 
to the organizations comprising the active militia, there shall be 
allowed four companies of naval militia, designated as follows: One 
company of naval reserve artillery, located in Providence ; one naval 
reserve torpedo company, located at Newport ; one naval reserve tor- 
pedo company, located at Bristol ; and one company of naval reserve 
artillery, located in East Providence; which shall constitute a naval 
battalion, to be Imown as the naval battalion of the Rhode Island 
militia. ' ' 

In the latter part of April Commander W. McCarty Little, of the 
naval battalion, was ordered upon active duty on the Constellation; 
but such strenuous opposition was at once manifested by the State 
authorities that the order was revoked on the 29th of that month. The 
men of the naval battalion during this time were anxious for active 
service ; but through delays and misunderstanding in regard to their 
being given a physical examination, they were kept for some time at 
the Newport training station, whither they were ordered about the 
1st of May for preliminary instruction. On May 12 Governor Dyer 
was notified that orders had been given for mustering in the naval re- 
serves, but they were to remain in camp on Coaster's Island Harbor 
until they could be assigned. At the same time Commander Little 
communicated to the Navy Department that there were in the bat- 



The Sea Force in War Time. 627 

talion one hundred and fifty men and twelve officers ready for service 
, for a term of one year. On the 17th an order was given to muster in 
the battalion and send them on board the Constellation; instructions 
were sent to Commander Little to report to the commandant of the 
naval station at Newport for muster. The commander was also in- 
formed that the duties of the battalion would be on patrol vessels on 
the Ehode Island coast, except in a possible special emergency. On 
the 30th of May the Rhode Island naval battalion had been mustered 
into the United States service and was on duty aboard the Constella- 
tion. On the 18th of June application was made to the Navy Depart- 
ment for a patrol vessel for Narragansett Bay. In the latter part of 
that month a list of officers for appointment in the naval battalion 
was sent to the Navy Department, but owing; to various delays the com- 
missions did not arrive until in July; the pay of the naval officers 
began on July 2. 

For a short time the converted yacht Kanawa was assifrned to 
Rhode Island for the use of the naval militia. 

In summarizing the work of the Rhode Island troops and naval 
militia in this war in his message of January 31, 1899, Governor Dyer 
wrote as follows : 

"During the month of May application was made to the Secretary 
of the Navy to permit our naval militia to enter the naval service of 
the United States, and that department accepted 152 officers and men. 
During the summer they were quartered either upon the U. S. S. Con- 
stellation, Newport, or at League Island, Philadelphia, and upon one 
or two monitors which were never in commission." 

The men who entered the naval service, being assigned to diflPer- 
ent ships, were not mustered out of service at one time; the greater 
number of them, however, were mustered out in August, 1898, and a 
service, which at the beginning seemed to promise much of actual war- 
fare, came to an end. Although these men did not face the enemy 
behind the guns, yet they performed a service which entitles them 
to fill an honorable position in the history of the Avar Avith Spain. 



J/ (^^^cL^zz^ 



Index 



Abacco, naval expedition to, 1776, 607 
Abbot, Col. Charles W., 389 

Lieut. Charles W. jr., 523 
Abbott, Daniel, n 33 
Abell's tavern, 349 
Abolition party, 3.53 

Aborigines of Southern New England, their 
manners and customs, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 
15 
Abuse, political, 291, 301 
Abutting owners, assessment of, 286 
Acquedneck island, 45 

Act for encouragement of seamen, 1718, 556 
Act of trade and navigation, not conformed 

to, 546 
Act for disbanding troops, 1709, 554 
Act passed to raise troops, 1746, 568 ; 1753, 

573 
Acadia, 130 
Adams, Brooks, n 103 

Charles Francis, n 28, 39, 44 
fort, 287 

Bbenezer, 457, 473 

.Tohn, President, visits Providence, 

285 ; 286, 287, 288, 300 ; death, 314 

.Tohn Quincy, President, 312, 315, 

316, 317, 322 
Samuel, 223 
Addresses to the King from the Rhode 

Island colonists, 217 
Administration Republicans, 319 
Admiralty, 148. 156 
court of. 155 
.iurisdiction assumed by Rhode Island 

colony, 157 
act, n 163 
act repealed, 162 
vice-admiralty, 164, 217 
British, 283 
trial before, 1723, 557 
Admiral, British, 228 

French, 241 
Advertising patronage, in payment of politi- 
cal favors, 317 



Africa, line of battleship, 283, 284 
African race, 277, 324 

slaves, 305 
Agriculture, 142, 165, 175, 253, 272 
Aix-la-Chapelle treaty of 1748, 187, 193, 

196, 427 
Alarms, frequency of. in War of 1812, 511 
Albany, Congress at, 196, 197, 198, 201 
Alcock, John, n 107 
Aldermen, Providence. 321, 325 

to be elected by wards, 364, 369 
Aldrich. Judge, n 103 
Aldrich. Wilmarth N.. 347 
Aldridge, Ellen, 58 
Alexander, Indian chief, 123 
Alger, Camp, 389 
Algerines, 341 
Algerine constitution adopted, 345 

"Diet of Worms," 350 
Algiers, 134 
Algonquins, 10 
Alien and sedition laws, 285 
Allen, Paul, 241 

Philip, 359, 360, 361, 362 
Representative, 328 
William, n 240 
Z., n 312 
Allegiance to England accepted by General 
Assembly. 113 

to Great Britain renounced, 232, 233, 

239 
T. W. Dorr offered pardon if he will 
take oath of, to constitution, 351 
Alum pond, 171 
Almy, Mrs. Mary, her account of the Battle 

of Rhode Island, 500, 501 
Ambassadors, 248 

Amendments to Constitution of United 
States, 265, 267, 272, 287 

to Rhode Island constitution ; ward 
and town clerks not required to 
forward list of voters to general 
assembly ; governor given pardon- 
ing power with advice and consent 



Index. 



629 



of senate ; general assembly to 
meet only at Newport and Provi- 
dence, all adopted, but the aboli- 
tion of registry tax and extension 
of time for registration defeated, 
363, 364 

repeal of registry tax and substitut- 
ing a poll tax, and allowing gen- 
eral assembly to regulate pay of 
its members, defeated, 366, 372 

relieving the governor from presiding 
in the senate and making the lieu- 
tenant-governor the presiding offi- 
cer, and declaring the general as- 
sembly to have the same power of 
granting trials and rehearings that 
it had previous to the adoption of 
the constitution, 372 

equal rights to foreign born soldiers 
and sailors defeated at polls, 380 

repeal of property qualification as to 
foreign born citizens, repeal of 
registry tax, prohibition of state 
appropriation for sectarian pur- 
poses, and woman's suffrage, all 
defeated, 381 

clause relating to corporations and 
repeal of registry tax, rejected at 
polls, 383 

prohibition of liquor selling carried, 
by popular vote, 383, 384, but this 
action reversed by another amend- 
ment, 384 

enfranchisement of foreign born sol- 
diers and sailors passed, 385 

extension of suffrage to foreign born 
citizens on same conditions as na- 
tive born citizens, carried by popu- 
lar vote, 386 

plurality elections substituted for 
majority, general assembly author- 
ized to enact a general corporation 
law, but biennial elections defeat- 
ed, 387 

May session abolished, pay of assem- 
blymen increased, date of state 
election changed, time for regis- 
tration of voters extended, 390 

opinion of Supreme Court in 1883 as 
to method of making, 390 
America, 4, 5, 15, 77, 117, 150, 196, 205, 
215. 217, 218, 219. 232, 238. 240, 251, 
266. 282, 284, 376 

daughters of, 279 
American and Americans, 71, 192, 212, 228, 
229, 233, 235, 236, 244, 248, 252, 259, 
283. 286. 291 

army, 241 

congress, 223, 225 

exploration, 9 



American fleet, withdrawal of, to Boston, 
1778, 496 

grievances, 224 

liberty, 222 

party, 366, 370 

ports, 153 

revolution, 140 

troops,, 230, 247 

trade, 235 

Republican party, 366, 367, 368, 369. 
370 

Union I'rox, 294 
Ames, Samuel, 340. 371, 375 
Amherst, Major-General .Jeffrey, 205, 583 
Ammunition, 113, 225, 230, 344 
Amnesty act in relation to participators in 

Dorr War, 352 
Amsterdam, New, 109 
Anabaptism, 38, 53 
Anabaptists, 89, 175, 177 
Anarchy in Rhode Island, 102, 175, 262 

at Providence, 115, 116 
"Anarchiad," The, 259 
Anchor Bay, 9 

seal of colony, 147 
Anderson, Major, 376 
Andrews. Col. John, 4,34, 435, 582 

certificate of military service of, 502 
Andros, Sir Edmund, appointed governor of 
New England, 140, 141 

arrives in Boston and demands char- 
ter of Rhode Island, 143 

organizes his government in Boston, 
144 

again demands charter, 145 

is seized in Boston, Imprisoned and 
deposed, 145, 146; 147, 149, 150, 
151, 161, 164 
Angell, Col. Israel, observations of 1779, 508 

Joseph K.. n 326 

Nathan. 597 

Col. Samuel. 432 

Thomas, n 24, n 33 
Anglican church, 18, 20 
Anglo-Italian, 358 
Ann, the Ship, 284 
Annapolis, 261 
Anne, Queen, 165 
Annexation of Texas. 351 
Animosities, local. Providence and War 

wick, 91, 92 
Annual elections, 387 

encampments, 529 
Anonymous letters, 289, 290 
Anti-Federalists, 286 
Anti-foreign craze, 365 
Anti-Masons, 319, 327 
Anti-Masonic party, '323-5. 327. 329. 331 

craze. 365 
Antinomian movement. 40. 41. 42, 43, 44, 45 

controversy, 57 



630 



Index. 



AHtinomian exiles, 51, 58 ; 175 

Anti-Sabbatarians, 175 

Anti-Slavery movement, 304, 305, 329, 367, 

371 
Anthony, Alfred, 370 

Daniel, map of Providence, by, 310 
Henry B., elected governor, 356 
re-elected, 358 ; 359 
elected United States senator, 369, 
370; 376, n 380 
Antiquitates Americans, 4 
Apaum, 30 

Appleton, Major Samuel, 406 
Aquedneck Island, purchased from the In- 
dians, 45 ; 48, 49, 51, 54, 56, 60, 61, 69, 
79, 82, 83, 87, 89, 95 
Aquedneck colony 74 
Aquedneck settlers, 53 
Aquednecks, Indians, 11 
Aquethneck, 50 
Aquethnec, 49 

Arbitration as a means of settling diflScul- 
ties in early colonial history, 34, 55, 72, 
116 

proposed as to boundary dispute with 
Connecticut in regard to Narragan- 
sett country, 119, but Was not 
agreed to 121 
proposed in the Indian disputes by 
the Rhode Island people, 125, 150, 
152, 173 
Aristocracy, 207, 301 
Arminians, 175 
Armed vessels, 232, 292 

Arms, fire and small, 226, 229, 230, 347, 376 
reception of, 1813, 511 
used by Rhode Island soldiers (plate) 
424 
Army, 198, 226, 227, 229, 230, 232, 234, 235, 
236, 237, 240, 241, 244 
French, 248 
British, surrenders, 248 
of United State, 376, 377, 383, 385 
of Observation, ordered by assembly, 

1775, 227, 441 
oath of enlistment in, 441 
Arnolds, 64, 65, 88, 141 
Arnold, Benedict, old mill at Newport, built 
by, 4, 5; 31, n 33 

buys land at Pawtuxet, 35 ; n 36 

acts as interpreter, 64 

elected president of colony, 96 ; 90, 

106, 115, 120, n 122 
J. N., n 99 
General, 236 
Lemuel H., Governor, 319, 322, 323, 

342, 352, 354 
Peleg, 283, 292, 299 
Olney, 370 

Samuel G., historian, n 47, n 121, 
125, 160, 167, 183, n 272 



Arnold, Lieutenant-Governor, 861, 362, 
375 
William, n 24, n 31, n 30, 35, 61, 62, 
n 93, 96 

refuses to leave his home at 
Pawtuxet during King Phil- 
ip's War, 418 
Arsenal, Providence, 343 

attack on, by Dorrites, 344 
Arrival of French army in America, 1780, 

508 
Articles of confederation, 248, 249, 256, 261, 

2G3, 264 
Artillery, 225, 230, 235, 320, 344, 379, n 

389, 426, 454, 511, 516, 521 
Ashaway river, 171, 172, 174 
Assembly, General, n 75 

the first held at Portsmouth, 82, 83, 
84 ; 86, 88, 91-95, 97, 99, 104-7, 111, 
112, 114, 115, 116, 120, 122, 127, 
131, 135, 137, 139, 140, 146 
bicameral system introduced, 149 ; 
151, 157, 161, 167, 169, 170, 171, 
179, 180, 181, 184, 185, 187, 188, 
189, 192-198, 201, 202, 203, 214- 
218, 220, 225-237, 242, 244, 247, 
250-2, 254, 258-269, 271, 274-7, 
279-288, 290-300, 302-309, 311-315, 
317-333, 335, 337-9 
condemns People's convention, 340 ; 
341-358, 360-372, 374, 375, 380, 
381, 383-390, 392 
address of, to Queen Anne, 555 
power to commission privateers, 542 
act of, to raise troops, 1755, 573 
act to raise troops for Crown Point, 

574 
act of, to raise regiment, 575 
act by, against carrying off slaves, 

580 
act of, regarding naval militia, 1898, 

626 
act to raise regiment, 1760, 589 
votes to build a war vessel, 1757, 582 
order from, to raise troops, 1759, 584 
Assessment of abutting owners, 286 

of taxes, 366 
Assessors of taxes, 144, 244, 335, 369 
Assistants, governor's, 86, 104, 106, 114, 
115, 116, 138, 149, 157, 169, 180, 188, 
208, 212, 284 
Aspinwall, William, 43, n 46 
Assonet Bridge, 191 
Atherton, Mayor Humphrey, 99 
purchase, 99, 132 

company, 101, 108, 131, 132, 134, 135 
men, 109 
mortgage, 150 
proprietors, 151 
Attack upon Providence, disputed date of, 
413 



Index, 



631 



Attleboro Gore, 190, 191, n 192 
Attorney-General, English, decides in favor 
of Hliode Island charter, 147, 148 ; 152 
gives decision favorable to Rhode 
Island in the controversy with 
Dudley, but advises repeal of ad- 
miralty act, 162 ; 164 
Atwell, Samuel T., 325, 333, 334, 338, 339, 

340, 341, 348 
Auctioneers, fees of, used for support of 

free schools, 315, 316 
Auction of Narragansett Indians' lands, 385 
Auditor, state, office created, 366 
"Aurora," 289 • 
Austin, John D., 354 

Authority of the crown, believed in by Sam- 
uel Gorton, 60 
Avery's crew, 154 
Ayrault, Monsieur, 151 
Azores Islands, 169 
Babcock, Henry, 434 

Colonel, 584 ; letter from to the gov- 
ernor, 1759, 586-7 
Jacob D., 356 
Lieut. Joshua, 473 
Rowse, 360 
I'ahamas, 169 
Bail, 348 
Baker, Capt. Edgar R., 524 

David S., 387 
Ballot law, secret, 358, 360, 362, 364 
Ballou, Ariel, 369 
John, 402 
Olney, 352, 354 
Sullivan, 370, 375 
Baltimore, 320 

Bancroft, George, historian, 5, 36, n 101 
Bands of Music, 302, 337 
I'.ankruptcy as a result of paper money is- 

isues, 179, 190, 259 
Bank, United States, opposed by President 
Jackson, 326 ; favored by general assem- 
bly, 327, 333 
Banks of paper money, 169, 170, 178, 179, 
182, 187-9, 195 

the Providence organized, 280 ; re- 
quired to make annual reports to 
assembly, 293 ; summary process 
for collection of debts by, abol- 
ished, 304 ; powers restricted by 
act, 329 ; allowed to issue notes, 
330 ; act to regulate. 369 
Gen. Nathaniel P., 350 
Banishment as a punishment for crime, 290 
Banns, publication of, 366 
Bannister house, Newport, 480 
Banquet to President Washington in Provi- 
dence, 279. 312 
Baptism of Roger Williams, 38, 112 
Baptist church, first in New World at Prov- 



idence, 39 ; at Newport, 53 ; Seventh Day, 

281 
Baptist meeting house, the First, 265, 315 
Baptists, 24, n 122, 143 
Bar, the Rhode Island, 371 
Barbary, 134 
Barbecue, 337 
Barber, Mr., 340 
Barber's Heights (North Kingstown), artll 

lery at, 1814, 512 
Barracks, 244 
Barrington, Sir Thomas, n 76 

town of, n 191, n 192, 274, 286; 
headquarters in 1776, 454 
Barstow, Amos C, 354 
Bartlett, John R., secretary of state, 372, 

376 
Barton, David, brave act of, 484 

Gen. William, captures British Gen- 
eral Prescott, 237, n 238, 471-481 ; 
is presented by Congress with a 
sword, 480 ; attacks the British at 
Bristol and Warren, 486 
Battalions, 235, 299 
Battery, siege, establishment of, to defend 

Narragansett Bay, 1775, 230, 448 ; A and 

B light infantry, 1898, 524 
Battle of Bunker Hill, effects of in Rhode 

Island, 443 

at Ticonderoga, losses in 1758, 436 
at Nipeatchuck swamp, 1675, story 

of, 401-03 
of Rhode Island, 241, 491-502, 504 
Battles, 230, 234, 237, 248; bloodless, 344 
Baulston, Wm., n 46 
Baxter, Captain George, 106 
Bay colony, Massachusetts, 62, 65, 66, 69, 

71, 72, 74, 79, 89, 90, n 93, 95, 96, 99, 

100 n 111 
"Bay of St. Juan Baptist," 8 
"Bay of Refuge," 9 
Beacon Hill (College Hill), fortiUcations on. 

449 

Pole Hill, 447 
Beacons erected during Spanish war, 184 ; 

during revolution, 238 ; at Providence, 

420, 446 ; in Cumberland and on Tonomy 

hill, 447 
Beauregard, Gen., 376 
Beaver Tail, beacon erected at, 426 ; fort 

ordered at, 177C, 454 
Beers, Robert, date of death of, 417 
P.t'llcvue IIou.se, 361 
Bollingham, Richard, 106 
Bellingham, Mass., 347, 349 
Hellomont, e'arl of, appointed royal gover- 
nor of Massachusetts. New Hampshire 

and New York, 153, 154; commissioned 

to secure evidence against Rhode Island, 

I.-.(i: his charges. 157, 158, 159; death of, 

l.VJ; 100, 101, 162, 174 



632 



Index. 



Benefit street, rrovidence, 278, 390 

Berkeley, George, his stay at Newport, 177-8 

Bermuda, 169 ; college, 178 

Blacks, n 192, 282, 320, 345 

Blackstone canal, 356 

Blackstone, William, n 29 

Blasphemy, as a political offense in Massa- 
chusetts, 66, 67, 68 

Blair, Judge, 277-8 

Blake, Ellis L., 369 

Blanding, Capt. Christopher, 521 

"Bleeding Kansas," 367 

Blockade of British at Newport, 240 

Block Adriaen, discovery and description of 
Block Island and Narragansett Bay, 9 

Block Island, first discovery of, 8 ; 36, 105 ; 
included in the Rhode Island colony by 
royal charter, 107 ; pier at, 182 ; garri- 
soned, 184, 385 ; beacon erected on, 426 ; 
second attack upon, 1689, 552 ; third visit 
to of pirates, 552 ; capture of, 1689, 547- 
49 ; troops stationed on, 1706, 547 

Blodget, Col. Leonard, 306, 307 
Col. William P., 347, 349 

Blodgett, William, 513 

Biblical phraseology used in pamphlets, 209 

Bicameral system introduced in Rhode 
Island legislature, 149 

Biddle, Capt. Nicholas, 6. 11 

Biennial elections, 387 

Bigotry of Puritans, 44 

Bigots religious, 175 

Bill of rights, 84, 271, n 390 

Bills of credit, issued by Rhode Island, 167. 
170, 179, 180, 182-3, 187-190, 193-5, 198, 
206, 256, 259, 589 ; issued by Massachu- 
setts, 555 

new and old tenor, 188 

Bipartisan commission to revise state con- 
stitution, 389, 390 

Birney, James G., 351 

Births, registering, 357 

Bishop Berkeley, 178 

Bjarni Herjulfson, 3 

Board of Trade, English, and its relations 
to the Rhode Island colony, 134, 142, 154, 
155-7, 159, 162-4, 168, 171, 173, 174, 176, 
181, 183, 188, 191, n 192, 537-9, 556 

Boats of the British sloop Liberty, burned, 
221 ;.. British troops board fleet by, 246 

Bombardment of Bristol, 1775, 448 

Bonnet Point, earthwork on, 1777-8, 457 

Bonaparte, Napoleon, 297 ; era of, 301 
Bonds, State, issued to build new State 

house, 392 
Borden, Luther vs. n 350, n 351 

Representative, 366 
Border warfare between Rhode Island and 
Connecticut, 100 ; troubles with other 
colonies, 149, 151 ; frays, 171 
Boss, John L. Jr., 299 



Boston, 16, 18, 23, n 29, 40-2, 53, 54, 57, 
64-6, 68, 76, 89, 90, 96, 97, 98, 109, 132, 
135, 137, 139, 143, 145, 146, 150, 155, n 
156, 184, 188, n 217, 219, 222-6, 229, 230, 
231, n 240, 241, 302, 316, 321, 328, 355 
and Providence railroad, 321, 328 
court, 18 
harbor, 223, 224 
magistrates, 36, 51 
Neck, 99, 130 ; breastworks on, 1776, 

454 
News Letter, 185 
tea party, 223, 224 
Bosworth, Mr., 340 

Alfred, 359 
Boundaries, disputes in regard to Narragan- 
sett country, 97-102 ; limits of Rhode 
Island colony defined in royal charter, 
105, 106 ; disputes continued in regard to 
Narragansett country, 107, 108, 109 ; de- 
cided in favor of Rhode Island by royal 
commissioners, 110 ; bounds of Providence 
Plantations vaguely defined in original 
deed, 113 ; Roger Williams" definition of, 
114 ; dispute with Plymouth as to terri- 
tory on eastern side of Narragansett Bay. 
110, not settled until a century later. 
Ill ; claims of Connecticut to Narragan- 
sett country revived, 119, 120, 121, 122 ; 
disputes between Rhode Island towns. 
129, in regard to Mount Hope, which is 
awarded to Plymouth, 130, renewed as to 
Narragansett country, 131 ; but decided 
in favor of Rhode Island, 132 ; William 
Harris appointed agent by Connecticut to 
argue its claim to Narragansett, 133 ; 
royal commission decides in favor of Con- 
necticut claim, 135, 136 : question of the 
eastern boundary comes up, but is not 
settled until half a century later, 148, 
149 ; Narragansett country controversy 
with Connecticut revived, 151, 152 ; 170 ; 
northern line settled, 171 ; Connecticut 
line still in abeyance, 172, 173, but de- 
cided in favor of Rhode Island, 174 ; 
eastern line settled, 190, 191, 192, 193 ; 
line with Massachusetts, 280, settled in 
1862, 375. by exchange of territory, 380 ; 
final adjustment of Connecticut and Mas- 
sachusetts lines, 385 
Boundaries, town, 168 ; settled, 381 
Bounties to soldiers, 378, 379 
Bounty frauds, 380 
Bowditch, Josiah B., n 272 
Bowen, Deputy Governor, 241, 254 
Kphraim, 242, 244, 469 
Henry, 356 
I'.owler, Metcalf, n 223 
Bourn, amendment, 386, 387 
Augustus O., 383 
George, 577 



Index. 



633 



Bourne, Benjamin, 271, 275, 282, 283, 285 
Bours, Peter, 558, 566, 568 
Boyden. John, jr., 354, 356 

Rev. John, 365 
Boynton, Captain, 283 
Braddocli's defeat, 574 
Bi-addock, General, 198 
Bradford, Governor, 18, 190 

Senator William, n 223, 282 
Major William, 406 
Bradley, Charles S., 363, 367 
Bradstreet, Governor, 145 
Brayton, George A., 359 

Representative, 328 
William D., 368, .'?70, 375 
Bread, 241. 242 
Breda, Declaration of, n 104 
Breakwater, 385 

Breastworks, erection of 1776, 454 
Brenton, Jahleel, London agent of Rhode 
Island colony, 155 
Jahleel, jr., 557 

William, n 47. 49, 108, 115. 142, 397 
Point, 233, 246 : watch house at, 
425 ; fort built on, 457 
Brenton's Neck, troops stationed at, 1814, 

512 
Brewster, Elder, 10 
Bribery, 189, n 214, 316 ; at elections, 213 ; 

how punished, 347 
Bridge, Weybosset, 266 ; Smith street, 321 
Bridges, 168, 280, 358, 388 
Bridgham, Samuel W., 295, 304, 306 
Brigade state militia, 234, 235, 243, 282; 

the present, 528-_^9 
Brimstone, 230 

Brinley, Francis, n 121, 138, 144, 147, 153. 
157 ; antagonism to the Rhode Island gov- 
ernment, 165, 166 ; faction, 158, 159 
Bristol, n 145, 185, 191-2, 202, 211, 224, 
231, 235, 240, 254. 274, 285, 292, 295, 
302. 306, 307, 309, 311, 312, 326, 331, 
332, 335, 346, 350, 364, 368, 372, 386; 
attack on 1775, n 486 ; bombardment of 
1778, 485-6 ; landing of British at, 1778, 
481 

Ferry, fortification at, 1776, 453 
harbor, entrenchments ordered in, 

1775, 454 
train of artillery, 526 
Britain, 291 

British, 198, 21.5, 216, 219, 220, 222, 226, 
228, 231. 236. 237. 240, 244, 246, 252, 
283, 284, 291, 295, n 312, 316 

army occupies Newport and Rhode 

Island, 235 
admiral, 228 
batteries, 241 
colonies, 273 
crown, 195 
empire, 184 



British fleet sails from Newport, 246 ; ar- 
rival of in Narragansett Bay, 1776, 469 ; 
non-arrival of, 1709, 553; at Louisburg, 
581 

forces on Rhode Island, n 493-4 

government, 215 

invasion, 247 

ministry, 187 

troops, depredation of, 489 

West Indies, 169 
Broad street, 321 
Broadway, Providence, 374 
Broadsides, n 210, n 214 
Brooks' assault on Sumner, 367 
Browne, (Jeorge II., 358, 360, 370, 375, 520 
I'.rownes. the, 58 
Brown & Francis, 278 

Beriah, 281 

Captain, 277 

Chad, n 33, n 286 

1). Russell, 387 

family, 319 

Fenner, 354, 356, 360, 363, 370 

John, 256, 280. 319, 558 

John, raid of. 371 

James, n 36 

Major James, 555 

.Joseph, master of the beacon, 446 

library, J. Carter, 191 

Moses, n 24, n 206 ; papers, n 206, 
n 213, n 223, 325, 435 

Nicholas, 367 

Obadiah, 274, 503 

University, 214, 250, 334 
Browns, the, 199 
Buccaneers, n 160 
Buchanan, President, 350, 367, 376 
Bucklin, Joseph, 462 
P.uU, Henry, 46. n 47. n 48, 147 

John. 297 

Jireh, 405 
Bullock, J. Russell. 372 

Nathaniel. 331. 332, 342 
Bullock's Neck and Point, 191 
Bunker Hill, 230 
Burdick, Robert, 100 
Burke, Jacob. 290 
Burke's report, 351 
Burgesses, Virginia House of, 225 
Burges, Tristam, 312. 313, 315, 317, n 318. 

319. 324. 327-9, 331. 333 
Burges. Walter S.. 340. 341. 348. 350. 352, 

372, 375 
Burgess, JIayor, 354 

Burnside, Ambrose F., 368, 377, 380, DIG 
ISurnyeat, J., 117, n 119 
Burr Hill, fortifications on, 1778, 455 
Burrill, George R., 286, 292 

James, jr., n 286, 292. 294, 300, n 
,302 ; death of, 300 
Burrillville, 292, 326, 360 



634 



Index. 



Burrington, Capt. John, 512 

Business, 190, 199, 201 ; paralyzed, 231 ; 
246, 254, 260 ; men, 330 

Butcher, 257, 337 

Butter, 272 

Butt's Hill, 236; fortifications on, 455 

Byfield, Nathaniel, n 145 

Cachaquant, Indian Chief, 9 

Cadets, 320 

Callender, Rev. John, Historical Discourse, 
n 47, 53, n 142, 175 

publisher Richmond Recorder, 290 

Calvinistic Commonwealth, 17 

Calvinists, 175 

Cambridge, Mass., 16, 43 ; college at, 177 

Camp Alger, Va., 389 
Dyer, 523 
Fornance, 389 
of French allies, 247 
Meade, Ta., 389 

Campaigns against Louisburg and Crown 
Point, 186 ; Revolutionary, 240, 247 ; of 
1759, 583-4; presidential political, 332, 
349, 350 

Canonicus, Indian chief, 19, 29, 31, 45, 70, 
78, 113, 124 

Canada, 148, 167 ; invasion of by British 
and colonial troops, 1759, 186, 427 ; con- 
quest of 1759, 198, 205, 439, 586 ; expedi- 
tion to, 1709, 553-5, broken up by storm, 
556 ; expedition to 1740, 568 

Canadian border, troubles on between 
French and English in early colonial 
history, 152 

Canal, Blackstone, 356 

Canoes, 124 

Canton, Mass., 328 

Cannon, 168, 218, 226, 233, n 240. 265, 280, 
293, 344, 352 ; received from the general 
government, 1814, 512 

Cape Ann, 15 

Cod, 9, 15 

Fear, failure of expedition to, 1776, 
612 

Capital of the nation, 276, 376 

Capital crimes, criminals guilty of, to be 
executed privately, 324 

punishment, 355, 368 ; abolished, 361 

Capitals of the State, 312, 347, 392 ; two 
instead of five, by amendment to consti- 
tution, 363, 364 

Capitol, the new State, 392 

Capitulation of Louisburg, 561-2 

Capture of the Desire by privateer, 1653, 
534-6 ; of Louisburg, Rhode Island's credit 
in, 562 ; of prizes, value of, 565 

Carder, Richard, n 45, n 64 

Carleton, Gen., n 246 

Carlisle, John, 513 

Carolina, 154 

Carpenter, Thomas F., 332, 342, 345, 346 



Carpenter, William, n 31, 35, 96, 166 

wages of a, in paper money, 243 
Carr, Capt. Edward, 422 
John, 280 

Sir Robert, 109, n 111 
Cartel ships, arrival of, in Providence, 1814, 

513 
Cartouch boxes, 232 
Carthagena, 184, n 185 
Cartwright, Col. George, 109, 112, n 142 
Cass, Gen. Lewis, 356 
Castle Hill, watch house at, 425 
Cathay, 5 

Catholics, Roman, 175 
Cattle, 68, 113, 123 ; killed in King Philip's 

War, 126 ; 128, 272 ; neat, 372 
Caucuses, 295, 300, 322 
Caunanicusse, 30 
Causin's report, n 351 
Cautantouwit, Indian god, 14 
Cavalry, 235, 379 
Celebrations, 265, 266 

Census, first official, 169 ; 176, 177, n 192, 
273, 305 ; municipal, 313 ; 328, 358, 360, 
374 ; 1860, 375 
Centennial celebrations, 383 

of 1876, 383 
Centralized government, 253 

power, Rhode Island jealousy of, 252 
Central Falls, 324, 374 ; becomes a city, 388 
Chalmers. George, n 102, 103 
Chaloner, Walter, n 246 
Chamberlain. Judge, n 103 
Champlin. Christopher, 573 

Christopher Grant, 285, 286, 290, 312 
Capt. William, 422 
Channel in Narragansett Bay deepened by 
National government, 385 

Providence river, 274 ; act to enable 
River Machine Co. to deepen, 275 
Chapin, Josiah, 359 
Charles I, King, 16, 47, 49, 62 

II, King. 97, 100, 103, 104, 106, 139, 

173, 335 
river, Mass., 15 
Charges against Rhode Island colony, by 
Randolph. 137-9 ; by earl of Bellomont, 
153-161 : by Dudley, 163-5, 545-6 
Charleston, S. C, 247, 289, 305 
Charlestown, Mass., 16 

U. I., n 98, n 192, n 273, 280, 281, 
327, 324 
Charter assembly, the last, 346 
authorities, 344 
Blackstone canal, 356 
city, rejected by Providence, 319, but 
finally accepted, 320, 321 ; repeal 
defeated, 332, amendments, 369 ; 
Newport rejects twice, 355-6, ac- 
cepts, 363 ; Pawtucket and Woon- 
socket, 386 ; Central Falls, 388 



Index. 



635 



Charter, Connecticut, 100, 122 
government, 328 
Magna, 84 
party, at time of Dorr war, 339, 340, 

341 
privileges,, colonists object to their 

infringment, 197, 227 
rights, under King Charles charter, 
131, 194 
Charter, King Charles II, of 16C3, 70 

government established under its pro- 
visions, 81-85 
causes which led to a desire to secure 

it, 100 
obtained by Dr. John Clarke, 101 
its liberal provisions and long life, 

102 
under its provision, Rhode Island 
practically an independent state, 
103 
granted in face of strong, adverse 

influences, 103 
religious liberty secured to colonists 

by its provisions, 104 
nature and powers of government au- 
thorized by it, 104, 105 
boundaries set forth in preamble, 105 
received by the colonists at a "great 

meeting," 106 
Block Island included in the colony 
by its terms, 107; 109, 110, 111, 
112, 113, n 114, 119, 120, 121 
expressly states that other colonists 
must not molest native Indians, 
125, 126 
comprehended Mount Hope, 130 
declared invalid in regard to Narra- 
gansett country by royal commis- 
sion, 135 
suspended through the establishment 
of tlie province of New England, 
139 
its surrender demanded by Sir Ed- 
mund Andros, 140, 143. 144 
Gov. Clarke conceals it. 145 
government reorganized under it, 146 
English attorney-general confirms the 

charter, 147, 148 
forfeiture threatened on account of 
the encouragement given to piracy, 
154, 157, 158 
general infringement of its privileges 

charged by Bellomont, 160 
danger of revocation averted, 161 
Gov. Cranston's appeal to it against 

Dudley's authority, 161 
exercise of admiralty jurisdiction 

urged as a ground for repeal. 162 
right to raise militia conferred by it, 

161, 164 
is saved by failure of Parliament to 



pass bill for regulation of charter 
governments, 165, 166 
boundaries to the westward as de- 
fined by, 172, 173, 180 
gave neither governor nor crown a 
veto over acts of assembly, 181 ; 
190, 192, 190, 224, 292, 306, 311 
motion to annual it presented in gen- 
eral assembly, 326 
last contested election under, 332, 333 
outgrown, 335. 336 ' 

some feature retained in People's 

constitution, 338 
last assembly under the, 345 
power of the general assembly under, 

371 
authorities, 351 
elections, 332, 333, 342 
government, 337 ; passing of the, 346 
Charter Parliamentary, of 1644, 70 ; reasons 
why the Hhode Island settlers desired a 
royal patent. 73 ; lloger Williams goes to 
England and secures it, 74 ; Its character, 
75, 76 ; Williams returns with it, 79 ; 80-1 ; 
general assembly convened and govern- 
ment organized under the instrument In 
1647, 82-85 ; 86, 87 ; Coddingtou's usurp- 
ation of government of the island breaks 
force of charter. 9n : project to have the 
four towns reunited tuider. 91-2 ; the four 
towns reorganize under its provisions, 94 ; 
98. 99. 101, 103, 106 ; boundaries to the 
westward as defined by, 172 
Charters, colonial, 100-1; their evolution, 
102=3; 106, 108, 1'20, 136-7, 139, 147-8, 
152, 159, 163-4 ; efforts to repeal them, 
165; 17.3-4, 190 

corporation. 325. 329; horse rail- 
road, 374 ; military company, 
341; railroad, 353, 358, 368; soci- 
ety, 329 ; town, 88 ; turnpike, 316, 
368 
masonic, 322, 324; revoked, 325; 
grand lodge restored, 374 
Chattels. 370 
Cheapside, 305 
Chepachet, 344 
Chicago, 388 
Child labor, 361 

Children. 175; not to be employed under 
twelve years of age. 333, 362 ; truant. 366 
Childs. Joseph, 323, 331 
Chopmist Hill, beacon on, 1775, 44 < 
Choppomiskites. 210 
Choppomlskite. Stephen, the, 209 
Christenings make not Christians, 76 

Christian Society, 39, 175 

Christianize Indians, Roger W.lllamss ob- 

ject to, 55 
Church and State, separation of, 77 ; So. Hi 



636 



Index. 



Church, Baptist, 143 ; Congregational, 53 ; 
Established, 143 ; Puritan, 143 

membership a requisite for political 
enfranchisement in Massachusetts 
colony, 16, 17 '' 

of England, 143 
Churches, early importance of, in New Eng- 
land colonies, 16-22 ; 26, 38-9, 41-2, 44, 
51, 53, 55, 89, 143, 166, 175, 280-1, 325, 
377 
Church, Capt. Benjamin, 401 
Cincinnati, order of, 277 
Citizens, 227, 229, n 273, 289, 291, 293, 295, 
302-3, 307, 308, 317, 320, 326, 337-8, 340, 
375, 385 ; soldier allowed to vote at the 
front, 380 ; white male, 345 
Citizens, naturalized, 284, 359, 364, 380, 

381, 383, 386, 387 
Citizenship, 291, 365 

City Building, Providence, proposed, 357, 
358 

charters. Providence, 317, 319, 320-1, 
332, 369 ; Newport, 355-6, 363 ; 
Pawtucket and Woonsocket, 386 ; 
Central Falls, 388 
Hotel, 325, 348 
Civil compact of Providence settlers, 33, 34 ; 
Portsmouth settlers, 45, 46 
liberty, 74 

things. Parliamentary charter ap- 
plied only to, 75 • 
rights, 103 

War in England, 74 ; revolution of 
1776 a, 227 ; of 1861, 375-6, 378, 
383, 385, prompt response of 
Rhode Island, 515, contribution of 
Rhode Island to, 523 
Claims, war, ^79 
Clams, 372 

Clandestine marriages, 357 
Clarendon, Earl of, 101, 111 
Clarke, George L., 369 

Jeremy, n 47, 83, 86 
Dr. John, 45, n 46, n 47, 53, 54, 56, 
73, 87, 89, 90, 92, 97 ; secures the 
King Charles charter, 101 ; n 104, 
105 ; credit due him for the char- 
acter and exactness of royal char- 
ter, 106 ; 109 ; rate for paying him 
for securing charter, n 114, 115; 
120. n 121, n 122 
Walter, elected governor, n 127 ; 139, 
143 ; hides charter to keep it from 
Andros, 145; 146, 147, 155-6, 158 
Clark, John H.. 340, 345, 351 ; elected sena- 
tor, 353, 362 
Clay, Henry, 316, 323, 325, 329, 351 
Cleare, George, n 48 

Clergy, their power in the Puritan colonies, 
17, 89 



Clergymen, Methodist, granted right to per- 
form marriage ceremony, 282 
Clerks, town, to collect information in re- 
gard to schools and transmit to general 
assembly, 305 ; town and ward, not re- 
quired to forward lists of voters to gen- 
eral assembly, 363 
Climate of Southern New England, 4 
Clinton, DeWitt, governor of New York, 277, 
278 ; presidential candidate, 297 

Sir Henry, 244 ; sails for Newport 
with reinforcements, 1778, 496 
Cloyne, Bishop of, 177 
Coal found near Providence, 329 
Coaster's Harbor island, 48 
Coast guard, 1739-40, 425 ; in revolution, 
454 

signal station, establishment of, on 

Block Island, 626 
of state, sea, in a defenseless condi- 
tion, 296-7 
Coddington, Nathaniel, 155 ; mayor, 422 

William, 42-3, 45-7 ; elected gover- 
nor of Aquedneck, 49 ; 53, 56, 59, 
69 ; favors alliance with Massachu- 
setts, 78, 82 ; 83, 86 ; attempts to 
put Rhode Island under jurisdic- 
tion of Plymouth, 87 ; goes to 
England and secures a commission 
as governor of Aquedneck and 
Conanicut, 88, 89 ; commission was 
secured by false representations, 
90, 91 ; conspires with the Dutch 
to overawe the people, 92 ; com- 
mission revoked, 92 ; n 93 ; submits 
to the united colony, 94 ; 126, 141 ; 
remonstrance to, 1653, 533 
Coddington's Point, battery at, 455 
Code of laws under first charter, 84, 85 
Coercion proposed to force Rhode Island 

into the federal union, 271 
Coercive acts, 224 
Coggeshall, John, 43, n 46, n 47, 53, ^6, 83. 

146 
Coin, 167, 179, 187 
Cole, John, n 223 

Robert, n 31. 35, n 61, 62 
Thomas, 513 
Collection of taxes, act to regulate, 366 
Collector or duties. 136 ; of imposts and 
customs, 274 6 ; of taxes in Providence, 
369 
Colleges at Cambridge and New Haven, 177 ; 
Bermuda, 178 ; at Providence. 214, 278, 
280, 285 
Collins, Gov. John, 254, 263, 269, 276. 279 
Lieut.-Gov., 311, 315, 319, 322-3, 329 
Colonial charters, 100, 101 ; their evolution, 
102, 103; 100, 108; 120, n 122, 136, 
137, 139, 147-8, 152, 159, 163, 164; ef- 



Index. 



637 



forts to repeal them, 165 ; 173, 174, 100 
Colonial affairs, 1676, 414 
census, n 273 

defense, action for, 1703-4, 422 ; fur- 
ther provision for, 426 ; strength- 
ened, 1744, 427 
department created in British govern- 
ment, 218 
government, 103, 113, 163 
houses, 336 
period, 272 
protection, larger forces needed for, 

1760, 440 
rights, 217 

union under British government. 
153 ; proposed as a federation of 
colonies, 223, 225 
Colonies, American, 73, 136, 153, 163-5, 183, 
185-6, 192, 194 ; union of proposed at 
Albany congress, 196-8, 201. 206, 215-9, 
220 ; union proposed just previous to 
revolution, 223-5, 233 
Colonists. 124, 145, 187 

Colony, 104, 115, 120, 140, 144, 161, 165, 
169. 182. 184, 186, 192, 201, 204, 207-8, 
210-15, 218, 221-3, 226-8, 230-2, 252, 263, 
282 ; early poverty of, 405 ; calls for 
troops and munitions of war, 1745, 563 ; 
not interested in piracy, 541 ; vessels be- 
longing to, 1708, 553 
in Iceland, early, 3 
Old, 16 
patent, 72 

seal, 84, 145, 147. 180 
Colored children, 369 

citizens given right of suffrage by 

new constitution. 345 
population. 313, 320, 329 
schools, 372 
Columbia. District of, 330, 355, 357 

S. C. 389 
Columbian Phoenix, 302 

Colvill, Rear Admiral Lord, letter of to 
Gov. Hopkins. 1759, 588 ; reception of, in 
R. I., 1764, 593 ; report of, on R. I. af- 
fairs, 594-5 ; letter of, 1764, 595-6 
Commencement. Brown University, 279 
Commerce, 102. 136, 143 ; colonial, 152, 
184 ; foreign, 153, 168-9. 175, 179. 184, 
187. 190. 199. 202. 206. 214-5, 220, 222. 
228, 231, 246, 248, 251, 254, 256, 261-2, 
264, 266. 272. 291. 296, 309, 385 
Commercial affairs, 252 ; conditions, 229 ; 
growth. 214, 274 ; interests. 167, 253 ; 
intercourse. 224 : isolation. 225 ; pursuits, 
169 ; regulations, 264 ; states. 251 ; towns, 
183 : supremacy, 165 
Commission to establish garrison at Provi- 
dence. 415-16 
Commissioners, 71 ; of United colonies, 87 ; 



99, 109, 124, 130; royal, 132; 142; of 
Trade and Plantations, 152; of colonies, 
172, 182 ; king's, 190 ; 191, 196, 218, 275^ 
280 ; sidewalk. 307 ; 313 ; of public 
schools, 352, 357 
Commissions, royal, 109, 134; to privateers, 

153, 534-6 ; 228, 233, 242, 349 
Committee for Trade and Foreign Planta- 
tion, 138 ; to report as to munitions of 
war during revolution, 230 ; of defense, 
1814, 513 
Commons, House of, British, 149, 165, 183. 

194 
Common Pleas Court, R. I., 355 
Commutation money, 357 
Compact, civil, I'rovidcnce, 33-4 ; Ports- 
mouth. 45-6 
Companies, military, 225, 226, 231, 235, 
342. 377, 389 

incorporated. 355 
Conanicut island. 89, 231, 240: watch house 

at, 425 ; fort ordered on, 1776. 454 
Concord, Mass., 226 
Confederation, articles of. 247. 248, 249, 

252, 256, 261, 203, 264 
Confederacy, Southern, 376 
Confiscating property of Tories. 246 
Congregational church, 53 
Congress at Albany. 196, 198, 201 

Continental. 223, 225, 226, 230, 232- 
3. 236, 242-4, 248-9, 250-4, 260-4, 
267-9, 271, 275 
of the United States, 273-6, 279, 281- 
2, 285-6. 291-3, 206-7, 300, 303, 
304. 313, 317, 323 4, 328, 330, 332. 
341, 345 348 9, 352, 356, 362, 364- 
5. 370, 375, 377, 385 
stamp act, 218 
Congressmen. 274. 276, 278-9. 283. 285-6. 
289. 290-3, 296. 303-4. 307-8; 312-15. 
317-9. 323. 328. 330-3, 341. 345, 347-8, 
352. 356, 362. 365-7, 370. 375 
Congressional elections, 288, 292-4, 304, 354 
investigation of suffrage question In 
Rhode Island, 351 
Connecticut, 10, n 67, 74, 77, 98, n 99. 100 

1. 103, 105-9. 111-3. 115. no. 121-2, 128. 
135, 138 ; again claims Narragansett 
country. 131-6: 137, 141, 145. 147-9. 1.50- 

2. 163, 165. 166. 171: continued contro 
versy over lUiode Island boundary. 172-3 : 
182. 186. 100, 221-2; 234-6. 242, 259, n 
261, 265, 298, 308. 311, 344, 350, 385: 
attempt of to extend jurisdiction, 1672, 
400 : troops sent from to Rhode Island. 
1778, 490 

river, 37, 98 
vessels, 220 
Conscience, liberty of. in Rhode Island <ol 
ony, 34, 53, 75, 84, 97, 113, 143, 175-6 



638 



Index. 



Constitutional amendments. Rhode Island, 
363. 364, 366, 370, 372, 380-1, 383-7, 389, 
390 

amendments. United States, 267, 272, 

287 
convention. 281. 285, 286, 287, 292, 
303-7 ; held, 309 ; rejected, 311 ; 
held. 1834, 326 ; proposed by 
T. W. Dorr, 330 ; 336, 337 ; 
Landholders' and People's, 338, 
339, 340 : meets at East Green- 
wich and frames a constitu- 
tion which is accepted at the polls, 
345 ; proposed by general assem- 
bly, but rejected by electorate, 
363-5. 370 ; desired by many citi- 
zens, 380-1, 389 ; opinion of su- 
preme court in regard to, 390 
charter, 102 
freedom, 351 
liberty, 257, 262-3, 266 
party. 326, 329 
questions, n 249 
right of general assembly to reverse 

decision of Supreme Court, 371 
union movement, 371 
Unionists. 375 
Constitutionalists, 327 
Constitution, British, 220 

Rhode Island. 197 : proposed, 257, 
263. 285. 287. 292, 303-7, 309, 311, 
326 ; People's 333 : agitated for 
fifty years, 335 : 337 ; drafted by 
People's convention, 338 ; Land- 
holders' convention, 339 ; vote on 
People's. 339, 340-2 ; present 
adopted, 345 ; government organ- 
ized under. 346; 348. 351. 371-2, 
380-1. 383, 386; commission to re- 
vise appointed, 389 ; revised in- 
strument rejected at polls, 390 
of United States, n 254. 260-1, 264-9. 
274-7 ; adopted by Rhode Island, 
271 ; 273, 288, 297, 376-7 
Continental army, first contribution to 442 
Congress. 223, n 225-6, 230, 232-3, 
236, 242-4, 248-9, 250-4, 260-4, 
267-9, 271, 275 
Convention constitutional, 280, 281. 285-7. 
292. .303. .304. 305, 306. 307 ; held. 309 ; 
rejected. 311. 313, 316, 318; held. 326; 
327. 330-2. 336-9 : Landholders' and Peo- 
ple's, 338. 339. 340. 345 ; meets at Bast 
Greenwich and frames a constitution 
which is accepted by the electors, 345 ; 
proposed by general assembly, but re- 
jected by electorate, 363-5 ; proposed, 370, 
380-1, 389 ; opinion of supreme court in 
regard to right of general assembly to 
call, 390 



Convention, Hartford, 298. 299, 359 
peace, 375 

political state, 356, 365, 370, 372 
Conventions. 261, 263-9, 271, 276, 285, 299, 
300-1, 303, 309, 312-3, 315, 318-9, 320, 
322-3 

political 369 
Continental paper money, 241 
troops, n 236. n 237, 240 
treasury, 244 
Conscription. 378. 379 
Conservatives. Union. 372 
Contagious diseases. 286, 287, 369, 372 
Contraband merchandise, 159 
Convict labor system, 354 
Convicts, their pardon regulated. 361 
Cooke. Nicholas, 195, 213, 228. 229, 230, n 
231, 232-6. 444 : letter from 1776, 469-70 
Silas, granted flag of truce, 584 ; 
complaint of, 584-5 
Coote. Richard, earl of liellomont, 153 
Cope. Edward, n 33 
Cordage, manufacture of. 168 
Corliss, Major Augustus W., 521 

engine at Centennial exhibition, 383 
Corn, 6, 142, 241, 246 
Cornell, Brig. Gen., n 237 
Cornfields of the Indians, 124 
Cornwallis, 248 
Coronation rock. 281 
Corporal punishment, 360 
Corporation charters, 316, 317, 325 
Corporations. 355, 383 ; general law in re- 
gard to, 387 
Correspondence, committees of, 223 
Corruption, political, 213 
Cotton companies, 325 
factories, 369 
goods. 169 

Rev. .Tohn. 26. 40-1, 43, 67 
manufactures, 299, 303, n 335, 361, 

388 
mill, original, at Pawtucket, 302 ; 

326 
spindles, 361 
Council of Andros, 146; of war, 234, 238, 
241-2, 246 ; Providence, called together, 
1697, 420 ; held in Kingstown, 1703-4, 
421-2 
Councils, governor's, 115, 135, 139, 143, 211 
privy, 138, 148, 152, 173-4. 181, 191 ; 
royal, 103, 130. 145 ; town, 217, n 
246. 302, 325 
Councilmen, 321 ; in Providence to be elect- 
ed by plurality vote, 369 
Counterfeiting. 189 
Counties, Rhode Island, 176, 269 
Courts established, at Portsmouth, 48 ; at 
Newport, 54 ; at Providence, 55 ; 59, 67-9 ; 



Index, 



639 



royal, 70 ; 71 ; general, 82-3 ; 88-9, 95 ; 
organized, 103 ; 105, 108 : at Newport. 
121 : 128, 131, 133, 135, 137, 139, 144 ; 
of election, 146, 156, 163-4. 176, 184, 192 
202, 213, 217. 222, 232. 237, 254, 256-8' 
269, 283, 299 ; United States, 309 ; 312-3! 
341, 345, 347, n 351, 354-5, 357, 364, 374, 
n 385 ; for trial of prizes, 1653, 533 
Court of admiralty, 163-4, 184 ; cases to be 
tried by, 537 : 542 ; disagreement between 
judge of and governor, 542 ; vessel con- 
demned by, 575 

houses, n 144, 177, 279 
martial, 301, 302, 306 
Supreme Judicial of Rhode Island. 
308, 316-7, 319, 321, 340, 354, 363, 
386, 390 
Coventry, n 192, n 202, 286. 303, 307, n 311, 

346, 353, 356 
Cove, the Providence, 357 
Cowell, Benjamin, n 296, 354 
Cowessets, Indians. 11 
Coweset. 79, 131 
Cows, not to be allowed to run at large in 

Providence, 307 
Cozzens, William C, 377 
Crandall, John, 89, 119 
Cranfleld, Edward, 134, 135, 137 
Cranston, Captain, n 122 

Henry Y., 324. 325. 328. 332. 340. 

347, 352, 360, 367 
Col. John. 425, 554. 559, 568 
Neck, watch house at, 452 
Capt. Robert B., 302, 330. 354 
Gov. Samuel, 155-6, 158-9 ; appeals to 
charter against Dudley's authority. 
161 ; report of to Board of Trade. 
168 ; is re-elected, 169 ; charac- 
ter, ability and achievements — 
holds office for thirty years — his 
death, 174 ; 175, 176 : letter of to 
Board of Trade on privateering. 
537 ; address of to Board of 
Trade, 1699, 539 
town of. 326. 330, 346-7, 352, 358, 
363, 372, 374-5, 381, 388 
Crawford, William H., 312 
Creditors, 188, 256, 258, 259, 355 
Credit, bills of, 167, 170, 179, 180, 182-3, 
187-9, 190, 193-5, 198, 206, 256, 259 
destroyed by paper money, 256 
money, 182 
public, 261 
of state, 254 
Crevecoeur, St. John de, 260 
Crimes, 84. 163 
Criminal Code, 330, 368 
Criminals, to be executed privately, 324 . 
Crocker, Israel, 354 
Crook, the, in Providence river, 274 



Crops destroyed in King Philip's war 126 

128 
Cross, George, 327 

John II., 329 
Crowne, John, 130 
Crown authorities, 147, 152 

the British. 147-8, 15.-?, 159 ; had no 
veto over Rhode Island laws under 
charter 180, 181 ; 187, 195. 107 
216 
interests, 137 

Point, 186. 198, 204; money, 206; 
219; secret expedition to, 1755, 
428 ; expedition to, 573 ; bills. Is- 
sue of. 574 ; reduction of. aban- 
doned. 575 ; expedition to, 576 
Cruelty, ministerial, in Massachusetts. 89 
Cryer, town, 226 

Cuba, 205; expedition against. 1762, 440 
Culture iii Newport in colonial times, 177 
Cumberland, 190, 191-2, 209, n 319, 326, n 

335, 346. 354. 358, 360, 365, 369 
Currency, colonial. 177-8; 182. 187. 189. 
190. 193-4 ; debased, 195, 253 ; continen- 
tal, 241-3, 249, 253 ; state. 254, 258 
Curry, Mr., 360 
Custom duties, 154, 216 
Custom districts, 273, 274. 276 
Customs. 137. 148. 273 

officers. 134, 220; troubles of New- 
port, 600 
revenues. 274 
Cygnet, affair of the, 600 
Dallas, Mr., 350 
Danforth, Walter R., 363 
Daniels, David, n 326, 345 
Dartmouth, Lord, 223 

Mass., n 129 
Davis. Jefferson, 376 

John W., 386. 387 
Thomas. 360. 362, 366, 370 
Dauphine. ship. 5 
Deane, Charles, n 103 
Dearborn, Henry A. S., 347 
Death sentence for rape, 290 

penalty, retained. 330. 355 ; abol- 
ished, 361 
Deaths, 357 
Debate between Roger Williams and the 

Quakers, 117 
Debts, 179. 182, 193-4, 254, 256, 258-9, 262, 
334, 308 

collection of, 304 ; imprisonment for. 
363, 371 : incurred In military 
struggle. 421 ; old registered state. 
353; public, 183, 249. 252-3; pri- 
vate, 253 ; state. 276. 277 
Debtors, 253, 256. 259. 260. 293. 334. 355 : 
insolvent, 312, 314, 319, 321 ; oath, poor. 
371 



640 



Index. 



Declaration of Breda, n 104 

of Independence, 233, 349 
Dedford, 139 

Deed, original Indian, of Providence Planta- 
tion, 29, 30, 31 ; vague as to boundaries, 

113 ; 114 ; confirmation, 113 ; of Paw- 

tuxet lands, 113 
Delegates, 243, 261, 264, 269, 271, 280, 287 ; 

to Continental Congress, 250, 252, n 259 
Delaware, 265 ; bay, 45 ; capes, 240 
Democratical form of government, 267 
Democracy, 34, 87, 207, n 317 ; of Newport, 

50 ; its evils, 55 ; an advanced, established 

by first charter, 85 
Democrats, n 287, 291, 301, 328. 332, 345-7, 

350, 352-4, 356, 358, 359, 360-372, 375, 

386-7 
Democratic measures, candidates, party, 

press, etc., 198, 317, 327, 329, 330-3, 336, 

342, 347-9, 350, 352, 354, 356, 358 

-republicans, 317, 322-4, 327, 329, 
330 
Denison, Daniel, 106 

Mr., 366 
Dennis, Capt. .John, 186 
Deposits, bank, 330 
Depreciation of paper money, 179, 188-9, 

193, 195, 260 
Deputies to general assembly, 104, 114, 116, 

138, 149. 169, 188, 208. 225, 246, 256, 

284, n 335 ; house of, 149, 193 
Deputy governor. 104, 106, n 122, 138, 151, 

159, 169, 176, 182, 192, 208, 210-12, 

227-8, 281 
Deserters, 284 
Desiertas Rocks, 5 
D'Estaing. Vice-Admiral Count. 241 ; sail of 

to Newport. 1778. 489 
De Wolfe. James, 292. 295. 304-5. 313, 323, 

326, 330, 327 

John, jr., 318 
Brig.-Gen. George, 
Dexter, 90 

H. M., n 23. n 25 
Major .Tohn, 421-2 
training ground, 338 
Diamond, the British frigate, grounding of, 

1777, 613 
Diary of Dr. Ezra Stiles, 236 
"Diet of Worms," Algerine, 350 
Digest of laws, 168, n 175 
Diseases. 369. 372 ; contagious. 286-7 
Dieppe, 8 
Dighton rock, 5 
Dillingham, Ellsha. 337 
Diman, Byron, 332. 342. 346, 352-3 

Prof., n 119 
Dimond, Francis M., 362, 364-5 
Disloyalty in Rhode Island, 141 
Disposers, 34 



Disputes, boundary, 114, 119, 120 

Distilleries. 183-4, 215, 296-7, n 303 

District of Columbia, 330, 355, 357 

courts, U. S., 283, 345 

election, 363 ; judge, 275 ; meetings. 

385; voting, 347 
of Narragansett formed, 386 
Divorce, 354 
"Dixit Senex," 249 
I>ixon, Nathan F., 324, 331, 340. 356 
Dobbins. Capt., 552-3 

Dollars and cents installed as money of ac- 
count, 284 
Domestic Industry, Rhode Island Society 

for the Encouragement of, 305 
Dorchester, 15 
Dorr, H. C, n 32, 38, n 96 

Thomas Wilson, make motion in 
general assembly to call a consti- 
tutional convention. 326 ; 329. 330. 
332, 338-9, 340-1 ; elected governor 
under people's constitution. 342 ; 
inaugurated. 343 ; attacks the ar- 
senal with an armed force, but 
fails, and then flees to Connecti- 
cut, 344 : advises political cam- 
paign under Algerine constitution, 
345 ; returns to Providence, is ar- 
rested and tried for high treason, 
348 ; convicted, and sentenced to 
state prison for life, 349 ; efforts 
to secure his release, 350 ; offered 
his freedom if he takes oath of 
allegiance, 351 ; released from 
prison. 352. 353 ; candidate for 
United States Senator, 354 ; re- 
stored to citizenship. 360 ; judg- 
ment against repealed, reversed 
and annulled by vote of legisla- 
ture. 364. but this action subse- 
quently declared unconstitutional. 
365 ; death, 365 
war, 344, 347, n 351, 358, 515 
Dorrites, 347 
l>ouglas. Brig.-Gen., n 237 

Stephen A., speaks at Rocky Point, 

372 
Dr. William, 189 
Doyle. J. A., n 103 

Thomas A., runs for mayor of Provi- 
dence on an independent ticket. 
368 ; mayor, 380 
Draft, 378-9, 435 
Drake, S. G.. n 125, n 126 
Dredging river, 274 

Drowne, Solomon, letter from, 1775, 447-8 
Solomon, jr., 446 
William, 446 
j Drunkards, 330-1, 334 



Index. 



641 



Drunkenness, 175, 368 
Dry goods trade, n 305 
Duane, publisher of the Aurora. 289 
Duck, manufacture of, 168 
Duddingston, Lieutenant, 222 
Dudley, lieutenant-governor of Massachu- 
setts, 16, 42 

Joseph, 184, 139 ; succeeds Bello- 
mont, 161 ; is opposed by Rhode 
Island, 162 ; charges against 
Rhode Island, 163, 164, 543-5 ; 165, 
166, 167 
Duke of Newcastle, 567 

of York, 280 
l)ummer, follower of Vane, 42 

William, 557 
Dumplings, fort at, 1777, 452 ; battery, 457 
Duncan, Alexander. 369, 375 
Dungeon, 349, 360 
Dunn, Capt. Benjamin, 461 ' 
Durfee, Job, 304, 308, 313, 317 

Nathaniel B., 365-7 
Dutch, 8, 9, 92, n 98, 109, 136 

West Indies, 169 
Duties, custom and import. 84, 136, 143, 
153-4. 183. 216. 219. 220-3. 249, 250-3, 
267-8. 273-4. 303. 355 
Dyer, Mary, executed in Boston, 97 
Gov. Elisha, 367, 369, 370 
Gov. Elisha, jr., 387, n 389, 625-6 
William, n 47, 53, 83, n 86, n 90, 92, 
n 93, 97 
Dyre, William, n 46 

Dwellings of Indians, 7 ; of citizens de- 
stroyed at Newport by British, 246 
Earl of Bellomont, visit of to Newport, 
1699, 539 ; report of on R. I. affairs, 539- 
.40 
Earle, Caleb, 306 

Capt. William. 444 
Eastern boundary dispute. 190 ; line set- 
tled, 191, 193 

district, 347, 352, 354, 356, 362, 
365-6, 368, 370 
East Greenwich, n 128 : incorporated, 131, 
133, 150-1, 176, n 192, 202. 211. 225, 229, 
244. 269. n 272, 274. 286. 306. 311, 345 ; 
fort at 454 : artillery at. 1814, 512 
Jersey, 145 
Providence, 374, 380 
Easton, Nicholas, n 47, 48, 73, 87, 115, 117, 
n 121 

John, n 125, 156, 414 
Eastsiders, Providence. 368 
Eaton. Amasa M.. 381 
Economic conditions, 199 : effects. 169. 170 ; 

growth, 214 : interests. 253 ; life, 142 
Eddy. Capt. Barnard. 449 

Samuel. 176. n 204, 303-4, 30S, 313. 
317 
41-1 



Edict of Nantes, 150 
lOdraonds, Capt. Andrew, 403 
lOdmundson. n 127 
Educational property, 325 
Effigy, hanging in, 218 
Egremont, Earl of, 589 
Eight, pieces of, 185 
Eldest sons, right to vote of. 335. 340 
Election day at Newport established, 49 ; 
315, 317, 327, 346; abolished, 392 
districts, 363, 368, 370 
law, 347 
Electioneering literature, 201 
Elections, annual or biennial. 387 ; 

140. 202, 207-8, 213, 275. 279. 280. 
285-8. 291-4. 296, 298-9, 300-4, 
306, 308, 311-9, 320-333, 335-6, 
339. 341-2, 345, 347, 353-4. 356, 
358-9, 360-9, 370, 372, 375 
presidential, 287, 297, 350, 362, 
366-7, 372 
Elective franchise. 189, 335-6. 359, 380, 

383 
Electoral votes, 3.33, 351 
Electors, 287. 386 ; presidential, 281, 291. 
293. 304, 316. 323, 356; property, 369; 
qualified, 337, 347 
Eleventh regiment R. I. volunteers, organ- 
ization of, 520 
Ellery. Senator Christopher. 289. 290. 292-3 

William. 276 ; letter from, 452 
Eliot, John, n 111 
Ellis, Geo., n 103 

Jonathan, 198 
Emancipation of slaves, 91, 330 
Embargo. 242. 293. 296. 308 ; on vessels 

trading with R. I., 1762. 590 
Endicott. Gov. John, 13. 20, 36, 106 
Enfranchised voters, 339 
Enfranchisement of foreign born soldiers 
and sailors. 383. 385 

of naturalized citizens. 364. 365. 387 
Engagement of allegiance, 113 
Engine. Corliss. 383 

England. 15. 23. 41. 53, 65, 70, 72-7. 81, 84, 
90. n 93-5. 97. 102-6. 111-12, 117. 121, 
132. 134. 137. 140. 145-6, 155, 158-9, 165, 
181. 184-7. 190. 196-8, 205, 218, 223-4, 
229, 238. 252. 282 ; defeat of allies by, 
1709, 554 
English, the. 11. 13. 15. 36-7. 66, 70-2, 75, 
77, 84. 89. 98, 104-5, 123-4. 128-9, 130, 
134. 1.36. 138. 151-3. 159. 163, 166. 169. 
174! 184. 186-8. 190, n 192, 196, 204-6. 
215 6, 220, 229, 240, 248-9. 272 : authori- 
ties. 149, 154. 160-1. 183; charter. 72; 
court. 74. 163; flag, old. 66; govern- 
ment. 187. 218 : goods, 219 : king's. 306 ; 
law, 48. 219; lord. 157; ministry, 186; 



642 



Index. 



settlement, OS ; and Spanish war. Rhode 
Island warned of, 41^5 ; throne, 103, 176 ; 
trial by jury, 4S, 54 

Englishmen, right of, claimed by colonists, 
183, n 216, 218 

Engs. George, 327, 328 

Enlisted men, 379, 389 

Enlisting men, provision for. 1739-40. 426 

Entrenchments laid out, 1776, 452 

in Bristol harbor, committee to 
build, 454 

Envelope secret ballot law, 360, 362, 364 

Episcopal forms and rites, 143 

Episcopalians, 175 

Equality, political, doctrine of, 336 

Equalization of representation, 306, 307 

Equity proceedings, 374 

Eric, the Northman, 3 

Eslick, Capt. Isaac, 606 

Esther, queen of the Narragansetts, 281 

Estimate state property, 357 

Estuaries of Narragansett Bay, 385 

Europe, 19, 196 

European, n 240 ; troops, 187 

Evacuation of Rhode Island by British, 
244, 246 

Exchange, rise in valuation of, 194 

Excise, 145 

Exeter, n 192, 273. 323. 361, 364 

Exhibition, centennial. 383 

World's Fair, Chicago, 388 

Exiles, French, 282 

Expedition against the British on Rhode 
Island. 1778. 491-502 ; to Canada, organ- 
ization of, 1709, 553 ; convention to con- 
sider, 555 ; to Canada, 1746, 568 ; to 
Fort Royal, 423 ; troops for, 554 ; by 
sea, failure of, 571 ; to West Indies, 
forces for, 426; 1740, 558-9 

Expenditure, war, 379 

Exports, 177, n 253, 267 « 

Expresses sent to Lexington by Rhode 
Island, 227 

Extension of franchise to foreign born sol- 
diers and sailors, 383, 385 

of suffrage, 335-9, 340, 345, 385-6 

Factions, political, 82, 86-7, 114, 139, 141, 
215, 293 

Factories, 333, 369, 388 

Factory inspection, 388 ; operatives, 336 ; 
towns, n 335. n 319 

Fall River, R. I., n 272, .302, 353, 355, 375 ; 
Incorporated as a Rhode Island town. 
367 ; ceded to Massachusetts, 374, 380 

Fair of Rhode Island Society for the en- 
couragement of Domestic Industry, 305 

Families, 95, 242, 246, 284, 336 

Familists, 175 

Famine imminent in Newport at time of 
revolution, 241, 246; In Ireland, 358 



Farmers, n 213. 253. 256. 262, 295, 317 

Exchange Bank, 293 
Farming. 169. 207, 273; towns, n 319, 335 
Farms, 193, 273 
Farnswovth, editor and publisher Rhode 

Island Republican, 289, 290 
Fast-day, 228 
Fauchet, M., 283 
Feast, open air. 265 
Federaladelphi, 279 

Federal. 262. 265. n 286 ; appointment, 276 ; 
commissioners, 98, 100 ; constitution, 
260, 265-8. 271, 273 ; convention, 264 ; 
doctrine, 249 : government, 273, 297 ; hill, 
337, 352 ; judges, 308 ; matters. 275, 277 ; 
offices, 275 ; party, 268-9. 271, triumphs 
of. 279. 287-8, 308-9, 311-3, 315, 332 ; 
rights, theory of, 253 ; -Whig city, 363 
Federalists, 254, 265, 266-7, 282, 286, 

288-9, 291-306, 309. 311-3, 315, 359 
Fees, 347, 351-2, 357 ; license, 330 
Fences, 151 

Fenner, Arthur, 114. 115. 116. 276-8; 
elected governor, and holds the office for 
sixteen years, 279 ; 280, 283-4, 288 ; 
death of, 291 ; commissioned captain of 
the train band, 1672, 401 ; letter to. 1675, 
404-5, 414-15 ; report of concerning the 
Providence garrison, 1676, 416 

Arthur, jr., due bill and money 

order to, 417 
James, 279 ; elected United States 
Senator and subsequently gov- 
ernor, 292 ; 293-5, 311, 315, 317, 
319, 322, 342, 345-6, 348, 350-1 ; 
death of, 353 
Capt. Thomas. 422 
Fenwick, Mr., 67, 80 
Ferries, 168 

Ferry, Fogland, n 129, 236 
Feudal nobles. Rhode Island landholders 

proud as, 336 
Fever, yellow, 286-7 ^ 

Field, George, 303 
John, n 33 
William, n 20 : location of house of, 

fortified, 1675, 404 
officers, authority given to enlist 
men, 425 
Field's Point, 313 ; narrows, boom across, 
177.5, 449; fort at, 1775, 449; commit- 
tee to fortify, 1814, 513 ; and Sassafras 
I'oints, breastworks between, 1775, 444 
Fifth R. I. Heavy Artillery, record of, 518 
R. I. volunteers, organization of, 518 
Fighting men in Rhode Island colony, 169 
Fillmore, President, 361, 367 
Finances, 244 ; of revolution, n 238 ; de- 
moralization of, 429 



Index. 



64? 



, 361, 364 

105 ; landing on of pirate 
297 ; of truce, issue of, 583 



Financial conditions, 253 ; history, n 170 ; 

matters, 248. 
Fines, 105. 234, 341, 345, 350 
Fire, 95 ; company, 305 ; district, 288 ; 

works, 218 
Firearms. 226, 232 
Firebrand, The, Discovered, 114 
Fire Fly, steamer, 302 
First Baptist meeting house, 315 

Light Infantry regiment, 320, 526 
regiment, civil war, return of, 517 
regiment R. I. light artillery formed, 

518 
K. I. cavalry regiment, organization 
of, 518 
Fish, Joseph, 198 
Fisher folli, 185 
Fisher, Schuyler 
Fishermen, 210 
Fisheries, 182 
Fisher"s Island, 

fleet, 550 
Flags, 218, 266, 
Flax, 195 
Fleet, 186, 293-1, 244, 246 

American, vessels of, 1776, 606-7 ; 
sailing of from Boston, 555 ; as- 
sembling in Delaware river, 1776, 
606 ; ready to sail. 607 : trouble in, 
610 ; final consequences to, 614 
British, 238 ; enters Newport Har- 
bor, 234 ; winters there, 238, 246 
French, 186; arrives off coast, 240, 
241, 247 
Fletcher, Governor, 153 
Flogging in navy, 357 
Florin, Juan, 5 
Flour, 242 

Fogland ferry, 129, 236 ; redoubt at, 455 
Fones, Captain, 135, 186 

John, n 144 
Food, 241, 242, 350 
Football practised by Indians, 14 
Footways. 307 
Forcing act, 254 
Ford. Dexter. 305 

Foreign born citizens, 380, 381, 383, 384, 
386 

plantations, committee on, 71 
relations, 297 
Foreigners, 358 
Forestallers. 242 
Forfeiture act, 340 ; laws, 99 
Forged letters, 289 
Fornance. Camp. 389 
Fortifications, 231, 280, 282, 287-9 
Fort Adams, 287, 451 

Anne. Newport harbor, 425, 451 
Barton, 453 
Chastellux, 457 
Daniel, 454 



Fort Denham. 457 

Duquesne, 196, 198, 205 

Edward, 575 

Frontenac, attack upon, 1758, 205 ; 

437-8 
Liberty, Newport Harbor, 451 
George, Newport Harbor, 184, 225, 
230, 425, 451 ; rebuilding of, 576 
Greene, Newport, 452 
Harrison, 457 
Hill, works on, 449-50 
Independence, 1775, 449 
Niagara, defeat of French at, 1759, 

586 
Sullivan, 1777, 449 
Sumter, 376-7 

Ticonderoga, capture of, 1758, 436-7 
Walcott, 301 
Washington. Newport harbor, 280, 

457 
William Henry, letter describing 
fight at, 1757, 432-3, 513, 575 ; 
capture of by French army, 1757, 
581 
Forts, 145, 166, 179, 198, 216, 233, 280; 

colony, 170, 182 
Fourth of July, 265, 266. 286-8, 314, 338 

regiment volunteers organized, 517 ; 
record of, 518 
Fourteenth regiment K. I. heavy artillery, 

colored, 521-2 
Booster, Theodore, n 24, n 240 ; senator, 
274-8 ; re-elected senator, 282, 284 
town of, n 273 
W. E., n 102 
William, 395 
Fox, George, n 96, n 119 ; visits Newport 
and Providence, 117 

Hill, 114 ; fort and battery, 444-5, 

447 
Point, 24. 191, fortifications and 
battery at, 1775, 444-5 
France, 28, 150. 153, 185-6, 196, n 203, 205, 

238, n 240, 279, 282, 286, 356 
Franchise, elective, 189, 254, 294-5 ; con- 
ditions of in Rhode Island, 335-7, 345, 
359 

extension of to naturalized soldiers 
and sailors, 383, 384 ; to foreign 
born citizens, 386 
Francis, Brown &, 278 

, John Brown, 319 ; elected governor, 
323, 327-9, 330-2, 342 ; elected 
United States senator, 347 ; 352 
354, 368 
I., 8 
Franklin, J., n 208 

Benjamin, proposes union of col- 
onies, 196, n 197, 198 
Fraud, 335 
Frays, border, 151 



644 



Index. 



li'reeborne, William, n 45 
Freebooters, 160 

Freedom, 218-9, 226, 229, 230, 240 ; of con- 
science, 34 ; constitutional, 351 ; political, 
93, 103-4 ; religious as tauglit by Roger 
Williams, 21, 24, 26-7, 84, 97 
Freehold, 336. 380 ; class, n 317 ; qualifica- 
tion for suffrage, 309, 335-6, 338-9, 340 ; 
system, 335 
Freeholders. 295-6. 303. 335-6, 338, 340-1 
Freeman, Edward L., 389 
Freemen, 105-7, 112, 116, 146-7, 149, 189, 
192, 202. 204, 207-9, 224, 264-5, 269, 298, 
n 301, 303-4. 309. 311. 313-4, 316, 319, 
n 320-2, 336-7, 339, 340, 343, 345, 363 
Free* Masons, 374 

masonry, 322, 340 

passes on railroads, 366 

schools, 287-8, 290, 303-4, 312-3, 

315-16 
Soil party, 356. 358, 360, 362, 367 
suffrage, meeting held at Providence 

in favor of, 317, 359 
trade. 298 
Fremont. John C, 367 
Freight boats, 308 

French, 148, 150-2, 163, 166. 186-7. 196, 
198, 205, 240-1. 268, 280, 282-4 
admiral, 241 
allies, 279 
army. 248 : arrival of 1780, 508 ; 

lands in Newport 1780, 510 
families, 150 

fleet. 186 : arrives on American 
coast 1778, 240 ; arrives at New- 
port, 247, 616 : damaged by tem- 
pest, 1778, 492-3 
frigate, 284 
operation against America 1746, 

570-1 
possessions. operations against, 

1744-5, 560-4 
privateers, 185 ; appearance of, 
1708, 553 ; capture of sloop by, 
547 
republic, 286 
revolution. 301 
troops, 247 ; co-operation of with 

Americans, 1778, 492 
war, 199, 204, 215 ; the old, 1754, 

427 
West Indies. 205 
Friends, the, 96, 97, n 127, 287 ; school, 

325 
Frigates, 234. 240. 247 : French. 284 
Frontier settlements. 196 
Fruits, 6, 7, 305 
Fuel, 246 

Fulton company, 308 
Fugitive slave law, 360 
slaves, 355, 365 



Fusileers, Providence, 225 
Gage, Gen., 230 
Gale of 1815, 299 
Gambling, 314, 360, 366 
Games of chance, 280, 366 
Gaols, 279 
Garments, 379 

Garrison house, the Jlreh Bull, on Tower 
Hill, destroyed, 405 

houses, authority given to erect, 
1703-4, 422 
Garrisons, 127, 215-6, 230, 240, 297-8 ; es- 
tablishment of at Providence, 1676, 
415-16 
Gaspee, burning of the, 1772, 222, 223, 
457-469, 603-4 ; commission to inquire 
into, 465 ; rewards offered for convic- 
tion of participators, 465 ; canes made 
from wood of vessel, 469 ; silver goblet 
from, 469 

Point, 64, 459 
Gates, Gen., 241, 246 
Gavitt, Mr., 340 

Gazette, Providence, 208, 217. 222. 226, 
249, 259, 278, 280. 284, n 286. 289. 291, 
296 
Geffroy, Nicholas, 288 

General assembly of Rhode Island, 75. 82-4, 
86, 88, 91-5, 97, 99, 104-7, 111, 112, 
114-16, 120, 122, 127, 131, 135, 137. 139, 
140, 146. 149 ; bicameral system intro- 
duced, 151 ; 157, 161, 167. 169, 170-1. 179, 
180-5, 187-9, 192-8, 201-3. 212. n 214-8, 
220, 225-9, 230-7, 242, 244, 246-7, 250-2, 
254, 257-9, 260-9. 271, 274-9, 280-8, 
290-9, 300. 302-9, 311-333. 335, 337-358, 
360-372, 374-5, 380-1, 383-9 : held at 
South Kingstown, 1739, 425 ; met at War- 
wick. 1741, 420; South Kingstown. 
1741-2, 426 ; grant from to privateers. 
1739, 558 ; meeting of at Newport. 1746, 
568 ; order of for regiment, 1758. 435 
council, 143 

courts, of Massachusetts and Ply- 
mouth, 18-23. 58, 65, 82-3. 112 
Guai'ds. conduct of in Battle of 

Rhode Island, 503 
muster days, 514 
officers. Providence, to be elected by 

popular vote, 369 
Quarter Sessions and Inferior Court 

of Common Pleas. 144 
Republicans. 317-19. 322 
training, provision for 1638. 395 
Treasurer. 182, 189, 212. 247. 286. 
316, 319 
Gerry. Elbridge, 290 

Geographical limits of Rhode Island. 272 
George I. King, accession of. 170 

II. 176: death of, 205 

III, 205 



Index. 



645 



Georgia, 250. 251, n 261, 265 

Germany, 290 

Gideon, sons of, 209, 210 

Gibbs, Gov. William C, 306, 311 

Gilman. Congressman, 277 

Gin, n 297 

Glass, duty on, 269 

Gloucester, town of, 185, 192, n 211, 280, 
287, 292-3, 311, 325, 333-4, 340, 344, 
346-7, 358, 360, 375 

Glover, Gen., 240 

Goat Island, 8, 282 ; fort on, 1700, 451 ; 
transports at, 1746, 570 

Goddard. William, 376, 516 
William G., 351 

Godfrey. Capt. John, 550 

Gold, 206 

Gold jewelry, 352 

Golden Ball Inn, 278 

Goods, foreign, 216 
English, 219 

Gookin. General, 10 

Gorman, C. E., n 380 

Gorton. Samuel. 26. 35, n 47 ; arrives in 
Boston, removes to Plymouth, 57 ; fined 
and banished from Plymouth, 58 ; be- 
lieved in a democratic government, sub- 
ject to authority of the king, 59 ; defies 
the authorities and assails the officers at 
Newport, 59. 60 ; his fearlessness in ex- 
pressing his opinions, 61 ; removes to 
Providence and creates trouble there, 61 ; 
builds a house at Pawtuxet. and protests 
against jurisdiction which Massachusetts 
assumed in response to petition of the 
Pawtuxet proprietors. 62 ; removes to 
Shawomet and buys Warwick from In- 
dians, 64 ; resists the aggressions of 
Massachusetts, 65-6 ; besieged with his 
associates by JIassachusetts troops, sur- 
rendered and carried to Boston, 66 : tried 
and sentenced to servile labor, 67-8 : on 
being set at liberty, returns through War- 
wick to Newport and settles there with 
his family. 69 ; obtains a cession of all 
the Narragansett lands from the Indian 
sachems, to the English king, 70 ; goes to 
England with Holden and Greene, pleads 
for "redress, and obtains a decision that 
the Gortonists be allowed to live peace- 
fully at Shawomet, 71 ; 73. 77, 81-2, 86 ; 
chosen president of Providence Planta- 
tions, 91 ; seeks reparation through the 
royal commissioners for persecution by 
Massachusetts, 111, 112 

Gortonists. 64-6, 70, 80 

Gortonoges, 70 

Goiild Island, fort on, 455 

Goulding. George, 558 

Government. 60, 73, 75, 119, 125, 137, 138, 
139. 140, 145, 147, 158. 177, 243 



Government, alien, 96 ; "democratical" in 
Providence Plantations, 84 ; established 
under charter, 81, 85 ; federal, 297-8 ; 
general, 342 ; home, 186 ; provisional, 
145 ; temporary of Rhode Island, 145, 
146 ; placed on permanent basis, 147 ; 
two distinct in the Rhode Island colony, 
93 
Governors, 91, 104, 106, 114-5, 123, 125, 
134, 144-5, 147-9, 153-5, 166, 179, 180, 
182, 184, 192, 197, 199, 206, 208, 210-2, 
228, 242, 320-1 ; royal, 161-2, 167, 544-5 ; 
of Rhode Island not entitled to veto un- 
der charter, 181 ; convention of, 1758, 
582 
Grain, scarcity, 302 
Grand Council, 197 

Committee, 308, 327 
Lodge, Masons, 322 
Grahame, James, historian, n 101, n 103 
Great Britain, 173. 187, 215, 233, 296-7 

Swamp fight, 1675, 406-10 
Greeks, 10 

Greene, Maj. Gen. Albert C, 307, 324, 327, 
352 

Castle, Warwick, 410 

Capt. James, 422 

John, n 31, n 61, n 64, 70-1, n 129, 

132, 139, 140, 156 
Maj. Gen. Nathanael, 229, 230, fac 
simile of oath of allegiance to 
United States, 239 ; 240, 242 ; fac 
simile of oath as quartermaster 
general, 245 ; 247-8, n 312.' 442 ; 
ordered to Rhode Island, 489 
Peter, n 72 
Simeon Henry, 375 
Gov. William, 199, 201 ; re-elected, 
203 ; 242-4, n 246, 254, 288 ; letter 
from, to Governor Trumbull, 1778, 
487 ; letter from, to Henry Mar- 
chant, 488 ; letter from, 1746, 569- 
70 
William, of East Greenwich, 285 
Greenland, 3 
Grenville, 215 
Greenwich. 11 

Greenman, Captain Edward. 422 
Greensdale. landing of British troops in 

1776, 470 
Gregory. William. 388 

Greyhound, the. captures pirates, 1723, 557 
Grist mills, 122 
Grog shops. 368 

Guard ship, stationed in river, 512 
Gubernatorial contests, 327, 329, 352, 361 
Gunsmiths of the colony, appointment of, 

397 
Guerilla method of Indian warfare. 126 
Guild. R.. n 259 
Gulf of Persia. 154 

of St. Lawrence. 205 



646 



Index. 



Guns, 93, 216, 230, 344 

Hale, Free Soil candidate for president, 362 

Hall, Isaac, 367 

Lauriston, 354, 356 
Hallidon Hill, battery erected. 17S1, 455-6 
Hamilton, Alexander, 276, n 312 
Duke of. 98 
Lord Marcus, SO 
Hancock, packet, 277 
Hautreville, Madame, 334 
Hawthorne, William. 107 
Harbor, Newport, 284 

master. Providence, 369 
Providence, fortified during revolu- 
tion, 231 ; its improvement by Na- 
tional government, 385 
Harbors, 142, 153, 160, 240 

of refuge, 153 
Hard labor, 364 

money party, '169 
time, 326, 361 
Hardware, 295 

Hargill, Lt.Col. Christopher, 440 
Harris case, 132 

Col. Christopher, 428, 573, 589 
Edward, 353, 354, 356, 358, 360, 362 
Elisha, 353-6, 361 
Robert, n 96 
• Thomas, n 33 

William, n 24, n 29. n 30, n 31, 32 ; 
heads faction. 114 : accused of high 
treason, 95-6 ; contends for his 
interpretation of original deed, 
113, 114 ; controversy with Arthur 
Fenner and Roger Williams, 114- 
116 ; becomes a Quaker, 117 ; favors 
Connecticut in boundary dispute, 
121, 122 ; is imprisoned at New- 
port, but soon released, 121 ; ac- 
tive in efforts to acquire land, 
130 ; signs petition to king 
asking that Narragansett be 
put under jurisdiction of Connecti- 
cut, 132 ; appointed agent of Con- 
necticut in England in regard to 
the Narragansett controversy, 133 ; 
is captured by pirates, carried to 
Algiers, returns to England and 
dies there, 134 ; n 142, 415 
Harrison, Peter, 177 

President William Henry, 329, 333 
Hart. Charles, 369, 370 
Hartford, 74, 77 

convention, 298-9, n 312, 332, 359 
Havana, capture of 1762, 205, 591 ; list of 

killed from Rhode Island, 440-1 
Haversham, 139 

Hawes, Rrlgadler-General Joseph, 306-7 
Hawk, British schooner, capture of, 1776, 

608 
Haynes, Governor, 26-7, 77 



Hazard, Benjamin, n 298. 303, n 317, 322, 
326, 328 ; career, death. 334 

Charles T., 371-2 

Jeffrey, 323, 327-9, 330 

Judge Joseph. 257 

Nathaniel, 294, 303-4 

Robert, 352 

Thomas, n 47 

Thomas J., 356 

Thomas R., 361 

Willard, 354 
Hazard's report against extending the suf- 
frage, 317 
Heavens, William, n 48 
Heavy artillery, 379 
Helluland, 3 
Hemp, 168 

Henrick, Stephen. 347. 349 
Herald, newspaper, n 318 

Providence, 336 

Republican. 310, 329, 350 
Heraldry of England, 60 
Heretics, 68, 97 
Hell gate, n 246 
Herjulfson, Bjarni. 3 
Hickory, Young, 350 
Higginson. 16. 18 
High sheriff, 281 

school, 332 

street, 321, 374 

treason. 95, 348 
Highways, 168 ; state, 388 
Hillsborough, Lord, 219, 223 
Hill, Thomas J., 379 
Hine, Mr., 303 
Historical sketches, 383 

society. Rhode Island, 290. 308 
History of State, 383 
Hitchcock, Enos, 265 
Hog Pen Point, fort on, 1775, 451 
Holbourne. Rear Admiral. 578 
Holden, Randall, 46, n 64. 70-1. 83, n 129, 

132, 139 
Holland, 15-6, 92 
Holmes, Obadiah, 89 
Holliman. Ezekiel, n 31, 32 
Holyman, Ezekiel, 38 
Home lots of Providence, 32 

rule in towns, 82 

Captain Rodman, 283, 284 
Horhes, 128-9 

Honeyman, James, n 210, 577 
Hooker, Mr., 22 
"Hope," motto of colony, 147 

street, 32 
Hopkins, C. W., n 32 

Esek, n 230, 231 ; admiral, n 233 ; 
Captain. 444 ; commissioned Brig- 
adier-General of R. I. forces, 1775, 
604 ; appointment as commander- 
in-chief of American fleet, 1775, 



Index. 



647 



604 ; departure of for Philadelphia, 
1776, 606 ; expedition of to New 
Providence, 607 ; return of to New 
London — congratulated by Con- 
gress, then censured, 608 ; contin- 
ued criticism of — arrival of with 
fleet at Providence, 609 ; prepares 
fleet for a cruise, 610 ; summoned 
before marine committee, 610 ; 
tried and censured by Congress, 
and ordered to return to Rhode 
Island, 611 ; causes of feeling 
against, 610-11 ; letter from re- 
garding English fleet. 1776, 612 ; 
ordered to Cape Fear, 1776, 612 ; 
failure of to capture frigate Dia- 
mond, 613 ; letter from to William 
Ellery, 1777, 614 ; dismissed from 
service, 1778, 614 ; election of as 
representative to Rhode Island 
general assembly, 614 : death of, 
1802, 616 

Hopkins, Isaac, 579 

Capt. John, 461 

Stephen, n 24 ; opinion of execution 
of Miantonomo, 78, 195 : delegate 
to Albany Congress, 196, n 197 ; 
early career, 199, 201 ; elected 
governor, 201 ; re-elected — charges 
against, 202 ; issues a pamphlet in 
answer to charges — is defeated for 
the governorship — brings suit 
against Ward, 203 ; elected gover- 
nor four successive years, 204 ; 
206, 207 ; defeated by Ward, 204, 
208 ; again elected governor, 209 ; 
offers Ward oflice of deputy-gover- 
nor, 210 ; again elected, but de- 
feated by Ward at two successive 
elections, 211 ; wins a signal vic- 
tory over Ward, 211 ; offers to 
resign in order to bring about har- 
mony, 212 ; offer accepted by Ward 
and "plan" put in execution. 213 ; 
214, . 215 ; writes pamphlet. "The 
Rights of Colonies Examined." 217, 
n 223, 225, n 230, 470, 568 
-Ward controversy, outbreak of, 193. 
199, 203; 204, 206, 207, 208. 209, 
210, 211, 212 ; end of, 213, 214 
William, deposition of. 418 ; 426, 559 

Hopkinton, 281, 299. 306, 353, 356 

Hoppin, Governor William W., 362, 364-7, 
375 

Horse racing forbidden, 281 
railroads, 374 

Horses, 169, 183, 328 

Hospital, 287 ; guai-ds. organization of, 521 ; 
service, 244 

Hotel, City, 325 

keepers, 330 



Hours of labor, 362 

Houses burned in King I'hilip's War, 126-7 
colonial, 336 

demolished in riot, 320, 321 
House of Commons, 149, 165, 183, 194 

of Lords, 165 

lots, 335 
Howard, Martin, 196. n 217 

Gov. Henry, 381 
Howe. Lord, 241 
Howell, Judge David. 249. 250-1, 257-8 

Senator Jeremiah B., 294. 299 
Hubbard, Governor of, New Hampshire, 345, 

350 
Hudson, Heuric. 9 

river, 308 

Mr. of Wickford, 119 
Huguenots, 28 

in Rhode Island, 150, 151 
Hulks, anchored off Pawtuxet, 514 
Hull. Captain, exploits as a privateer, n 93, 
185 

John, 98 N 

Hungarian patriot, 361 
Hunters, Scituate, 225, 441 
Hunter, William. 292, n 295, 304, 313 
Husband, 334 

Husband's personal estate, 368 
Hutchinson, Mrs. Anne, 28, 38, 40-1 ; trial 
and banishment, 43-4 ; 56, 58 

Ed., jr., n 46 

Ed., sr., n 46 

party, 43 

Gov. William. 47, 49, n 102 

Wm., jr., n 46 
Hypocrisie Unmasked. 71 
Iceland, 3 
Idle factories. 369 
Idol. General, 65 

Illiteracy in Rhode Island colony, 166 
Ill-repute, houses of, 368 
Illuminations, 302 
Immigration, 358 
Impeachment, 258 
Importation acts, 219 
Importation of slaves into South Carolina, 

305 
Imports, 215, 219, 252-4. 295 
Import duties, 84, 219, 250-2 
Imposts, 250, 251-2, 260, 267-8, 275 
Impressment of seamen, 216, 284. 291. 298 
Imprisonment for debt. 334, 363. 371 

for life. Dorr sentenced to, 349 
Inauguration of Gov. Dorr, 342-3 
Incorporation law, 355 

Indemnity granted Rhode Island colony, 186 
Independence of America. 249 

English oflScial said the Rhode Island 
colonists were thirsting for in 
1700, 159 ; struggle for. 183 ; 187, 
219, 224, n 240. 270 



648 



Index. 



Indelpendence day, 265-6, 338 
Declaration of, 233, 349 
of Rhode Island declared, 232, 233, 

273 
of United States acknowledged, 248 

Independent military companies, 347 ; after 
the revolution, 510 ; authority given to 
increase their ranljs, 1812, 511 ; present 
organizations, 529 

Independents, 177 

Indians, names, 4 ; inscriptions, 5 ; man- 
ners, customs, religion, theory of origin, 
language, characteristics, numbers, etc., 
6-15 ; 19, 24, 32, 36 ; league with Narra- 
gansetts and Mohegans against the 
Pequots, 37 ; depredations. 55 ; 72, 74, 
76-8, 86, 89, 94, 9S-9, 105, 114 ; rights 
116 ; their unrest at the encroachments of 
the whites, 122-4 ; not to be molested in 
Khode Island by other colonists. 125-6 
destroy mainland towns during King 
Philip's war ; their ultimate fate, 128 
J.32, 135, 163, 166-7, 176-7 ; 186, n 192 
196 ; battle with, 1676, 410 ; fort, descrip 
tion of, 407 ; ordered out of town, 398 
need of protection from, 395 ; threatened 
danger from, 404 ; wars, 136, 149, 406 
ancient account of, 417 ; warfare, horrors 
of, 126, 401 ; wrongs inflicted upon, 395 
Xarragansetts, 280 — degradation of, 324 
— tribal authority abolished, 385 

India Point, 24, n 297, n 303 
street, 286 
Tea, 226 

Individuality, rampant in Rhode Island col- 
ony, 85-6 ; promoted by institutions of, 
185 

Individual authority surrendered, 273 

Industries. 248, 258, 303. 336, 351. 383. 388 

Industry, domestic, Rhode Island society 
for the encouragement of, 305 

Industrial development. 305, 358 

Inequality of representation in General As- 
sembly, 306-7, 335-6, 339 

Infantry, 379 ; first- regiment of, 377 ; regi- 
ment organized, 1861, 516 ; regiment au- 
thorized, 1898, 523 

First Light, 320, 321 
Providence Light, 225 

Infectious diseases, 369, 372 

Ingolf, 3 

"Initial Deed," n 31, 32 

Initiative practiced under first charter, 83 ; 
309 

Inns, 278, 289 

Innholders, 244 

Innkeepers, 350 

Inoculating, n 236 

Insolvent debtors, 293, 312, 314, 316, 319, 
321 

Inspectors, factory, 388 



Insurance companies, 293 

Insured, 291 

Insurrection of 1842, 343, 358 

Intercolonial War, 196 

Interest, 169, 170, 178, 188, 254 ; legal rate, 

369 
Interference in Rhode Island affairs by na- 
tional government resented, 348 
Internal taxes, 219 
Interstate commerce, 309 

trade, 252 
Intestate estates, 280 
Intolerance, 89 
Intoxicating liquors, manufacture and sale 

of prohibited, 366, 384 
Ireland, 358 

Irish, 316 ; large infusion of in population, 
359 

George, 327 
Iron, 388 

Islands, 176-7, 205, 272; foreign, 183 
Island of Rhode Island, 199, 231 ; occupied 
by British, 235, 236 ; 240 ; evacuation, 
244, 246, n 268 
Isle of Rhodes, 50 
Italy, 177 

Ives vs. Hazard, case of, 371 
Robert H., 371 
Thomas P., 623, 625 
Jacobins, 287, 295, 301, 359 
Jacksonians, 317 
Jackson, Charles, 352-3, 368 

President. 315-8, 323, 325-6, 330, 345, 

350, 359 
Richard, Jr., 292-3, n 296-7 
Jail, 100, 176, 320. 348, 350, 352, 355 ; 
common, 66 ; Newport, 170 ; Providence, 
234 
Jamaica, 184 

Plain, 230 
James, Charles T., 350, 360 ; Senator, 368 

Thomas, n 31, n 32 
Jamestown, n 128, 177, n 211, 282 
Jay treaty, 285 
Jeffersonians, 317 
Jeffersonian Republicans, 316 
Jefferson, President Thomas, 276-8, 287-8, 

290-3, 314 
Jeffries, Robert, 56, 395 
Jencks, Daniel, 211 
Jenckes. John, 597 

Governor Joseph, 176 ; vetoes an act 
calling for an issue of paper 
money, 179 ; 180 ; defeated for 
governorship, 182 ; 199 
Jersey. East and West, 145 
Jesuits, 67 
Jewelry, 388 

gold, 352 
Jews. 10. 28. n 222. 260 
Johnson. Col. William, 573 



Index. 



649 



Johnston, town of, n 211, 311, 322, 326, 333, 

346, 366, 381, 388-9 
Jones, First Lieut. John Paul, 607 
Thomas, 154 

William, address by, n 293 ; 294 ; 

elected governor, 295, 297-9, 300-2 

Journal, Manufacturers' and Farmers, 314-6 

Providence, 314, 317, 326, 337, 350, 

356, 359, 361, 365, 368-9, 372, 378 

Judges, 155, 256, 275, 283, 308, 314, 348, 

355, 359 
Judicial functions of General Assembly, 
257-S 

system, 176 
Judiciary, 257, 388 : law, 314 ; supreme, 258 
Jury, 138, 348 ; trial by, 48, 54, 256-7 
Justice courts, 355 

Justices, 139, 166. 258, 314, 347, 355 ; chief. 
213, 281 ; of the peace, 192 ; supreme 
court, 363 
Kansas, 367, 370 
Kansas-Xebraska bill, 364 
Katy, the, 230 

Kelby, Alexander, killed at I'awtucket dur- 
ing Dorr war, 344 
Kent county, 202, n 211, 306, 312 
Kentish Guards, 441, 526; history of, 529-30 
Kentucky, 285 
Kenyon farm, 281 
Kettle Point, works at, 1775, 448 ; works 

built at, 1814, 513 
Key to the Indian language, 76 
Kidd, Robert, letter from, 541-2 

Captain William, in Rhode Island 
waters, 541 
Kimball, Jerome B., 369, 370 
King, Congressman, 362 
George G., 356 
Gov. Samuel Ward, 331-2, 340-4, 346, 

349 
and Council, action of on Admiral 

Colville's report, 1764, 595 
Philip, succeeds his brother Wamsut- 
ta as sachem, 123 ; plans the war, 
124 : confers with Newport men — 
Xarragansetts ally themselves with 
him. 125 ; death, 128, n 129 
Philip's war, 116 ; causes leading to. 
122, 123 ; negotiations and plots, 
124 : massacre at Swansea, 124 ; 
might have been averted by arbi- 
tration. 125 ; the Swamp Fight, 
126 ; burning and devastation of 
mainland towns in Rhode Island 
by Indians, 126 ; this result due to 
the refusal of the assembly to 
establish garrisons on mainland. 
127 ; death of Philip and end of 
war, 128, n 129 ; 401 ; heroes of. 
403-04 
Kings. British. Charles I, 19, 62, 74 



Kings, Charles II, 100-1, 105, 107-8, 110, 
120, 130, 132-3, 136-9, 173 
George I, 172-3 
George II, 179, 180-1, 184, 187, 190, 

191, 193, 198 ; death of, 205 
George III, 205, 215, 217-8, 221, 223, 

228, 233 
James I, 19 
James II, 138-9, 140 ; deposition and 

flight, 145 
William III (Prince of Orange), 145, 
148, 154, 156; death of, 160 
Kings, a long line of sceptred, feared if 
Jackson should be elected President, 316 
King's English, 306 

garrison at Providence, 415-6 
Province. 133-5 
Kingston, n 128. n 131, 139, n 144 ; popula- 
tion, 169 
Kingstown, 176-7; northern part, 150; 

North, n 211 ; South, 172 
Kinnicut, the sloop, capture of, 1765, 597 
Kirk, Col. Percy, 138 

Knight, Nehemiah R.. 288 ; elected to con- 
gress, 291, 292 ; governor, 299, 300, 303 ; 
United States senator, 306, 308, 327-8, 
330, 333 
Knowles, Admiral, 567 

Mr., 368 
Know-Nothing party, 365, 367 
Kossuth. Louis, invited by general assembly 

to visit Rhode Island, 361 
Labor, 206 ; child, 361 ; hard, 364 ; hours of, 

362 ; prison, 354 
Laborers, 336 
Laboring men, 210 
Labour, 244 
Labrador, 4 

Ladd, Gov. Herbert W., 387 
Ladies' Volunteer Relief Association, the 

Providence, 379 
Lafayette, Marquis de. 240, 279 ; visit to 
Providence, 311-2 ; General, dispatch of 
to Rhode Island, 489 ; in retreat from 
Rhode Island, 503 
Lake George, battle of, 574 
Lamps, public, 305 

Lancaster, William, paid for military ser- 
vice, 417 
Land, 147, 168, 196, 229 

claims, 79, 131-2, 140-1 
controversies, 116 

disputes, 33-6, 61, 64-5, 88-9, 97-9, 
100-2, 107-9, 110, 111, 115-6, 119, 
120, 122-3, 129, 131-2, 140-1, 150-2, 
171-4; settled by terms of charter 
of 1663, 105 ; prominent in annals 
of Providence, 130 
filled. 357 
greed. 94 
grants, 143 



'650 



Index. 



Land, hunger, 55-G, 75, 94, n 120 
of Indians appropriated, 1-2 
King I'liilip's opinion of the land 

policy of the English. 123, 124 
owners, 147, 169 
ownership a necessary qualification 

for suffrage, 335, 336. 338- 
patent, 75 

purchased from Indians. 30-2, 64, 69. 
99, 100, 105 ; purchased by Berke- 
ley, 177 
struggle for in Rhode Island against 

neighboring colonies, 252 
tax, 288 
titles, 66, 166 
Lands, public, 333 

cession of Indian, to English king, 
brought about by Samuel Gorton, 
70 
tribal, of Narragansett Indians sold 
at auction, 385 
Landholders, 193, n 316, 336, 369 

convention meets and drafts state 
constitution. 338-9 ; meets again 
and modifies suffrage provisions, 
340 
constitution framed by convention, 
338-9 ; provisions modified, at ad- 
journed meeting, 340 ; submitted 
to popular vote and rejected, 341 
Landholding assembly, n 317 
Landing of British on Khode Island 1776, 

470 ; at Bristol and Warren, 1778, 481 
Law, 54, 116 

Law and Order party. 341-5. 347-9. 352 
Lawrence, William Beach, 359, 361-2 
Laws, not finally passed until approved by 
people under first charter, 83-4 : 95, 103, 
137, 143 

Digest of, 168 
Lawyers, 264, 295, 304, n 328. 332; nine 

democratic, 341 
Lawton. Edward W., 354, 356 
George, 414-5 
Col. Uobert B., 518 
Lead, import duty upon, 218 
Lechford, 73 

Lecompton constitution, 370 
Lee, General Charles, 232, 471-2 

Major George, 554 
Legal talent, 371 
Legal tender, 254, 256, 260 

voters, 339, sec freehold qualification 
Legislation, how originated under first char- 
ter, 83-4 ; colonial, 158. 167. 1€8 : after In- 
dependence, sec f/encral assembly 
Legislative annals, 272 to 392 
Legislature, bicameral system Introduced in 

State, 149 ; People's, 343 
Legislatures, State, 264 
Xeif, son of Eric, 3, 4 



Lenthall. Robert. 53. n 56 

Leslie. Capt. Charles, letter from to Gov. 

Ward. 17G5, 601 
Letter concerning piracy, 538 

from Gov. Shirley to Gov. Greene, 
1744-5, 560-1 
Letters, 233 ; anonymous, 289, 290 : forged, 
288. 289 ; of marque, facility of issue, 541 
Lexington, 226-7, 229 
Liberation of Dorr demanded. 350 

Whigs, 352 
Liberty. 198, 199. 217, 226. 229, 231, 248-9, 
251. 263, 272 n 390 ; American. 222. 247 ; 
degenerated into disorder at Providence, 
94 

and Union Prox, 327 
British armed sloop burned by citi- 
zens of Newport, 220, 221 
of conscience, at Providence, 38-9 : at 
Newport, 53 ; 75, 97, 113. 143, 
175-6 
constitutional, 257, 262-3, 266 
party, 351, 353-4 

religious, 74, 76, 87, 101-2 : secured 
to Rhode Island by charter of 
1663, 104; 107 
the sloop, operations of, 603 
sons of, 228 
Library, Redwood, 178 

established in Providence. 1754. 214 
License fees, general, regulated. 307, 352 
fees, liquor, 330, 347 
law, liquor, 325, 330. 334. 347, 352-5. 

357, 383-4 
party, 354 
Licentiousness. 157 
Lien law. mechanics, 370 
Light Artillery. 379 

Dragoons, 320-1 
Lighthouse at Jamestown transferred to 

United States, 282 ; 283-4 
Limited liability. 355 

Lincoln, Abraham, makes campaign speech 
in Providence, 372 ; elected president, 
376 ; calls for troops, 377 
town of, 381, 388 
Linen goods, 169 
Line oflScers, list of, 428 
Lippitt, Gov. Charles Warren, 387, 392 

Gov. Henry, 381 
Liquor evil, 315 

license laws, 325, . 330, 334. 347, 

352-7, 383-4 
law, prohibitory, passed 1852, 361-2, 

366 : in 1886, 383-4 
selling, forbidden within one mile of 
church in Hopkinton during 
church services, 1792, 281 ; forbid- 
den within one mile of any relig- 
ious meeting. 1822. 307 ; board of 
aldermen. Providence, authorized 



Index. 



651 



TO prohibit on Sunda.ys and at 
other times. 1834, 325 ; licensed, 
and fees regulated, 1837. 330, 1843, 
347 ; on Sundays and to habitual 
drunl<ard prjhibited. 331-334 ; local 
option as to, S'l- ; legislation as to, 
353-7 ; prohibition of. 301--. 300, 
383-4 
Liquors, 145, 296, 303, 325 
Literary men, 177 
Litigation, land, 129 
Little Compton, 191, 192. 198. n 273. 292. 

298 ; artillery at, 1814, 512 
Littlefleld, Gov. Alfred H., 383 

William, 365 
Little, W. McCarty, 626 
Livermore, n 107 
Livery stables, 357 
Live stock, 231 

Lives lost in Olney street riot, 321 
Loans, 182-3, n 238, 244 ; bank, 330 ; of 
public money to private parties, 169 ; 
public, 188, 193. 195, 254 : private. 256 
Local option relating to liquor selling, 252, 

330 
Locomotive, the first to run between Boston 

and Providence. 328 
Lpcliman, Leonard, 184 
Log cabin, 333 

London, 122, 130, 132, 139, 155, 173, 183-4 ; 
greater, 273 ; R. I. agents in. 181, 184, 
197, 215 
Long Island, 11, 45, 234 

Island Sound, 9 
Lord North, 226 
Lords, House of, 165 

Say and Seal patent, 98 
of trade, 137, 162. 164, 196-7 
Lotteries, to raise money for public pur- 
poses, 280 ; receipts used for free schools. 
315, 316 : opposition to developed, 333 
Loudon, Earl of, commander-in-chief, 1756, 

431 ; 576 
Louisburg, capture of, 1S5-6, 561-2 ; restored 
to French, 187 ; second capture of, 205 ; 
expedition to, 427 ; surrender of, 1*758, 
436 ; garrison for with Rhode Island 
quota. 562 ; attempt to recapture, 581 
Louisiana, 345 
Louis XIV, 28 
Lovell, Brig.-Gen.. n 237 

General Hospital, 521 
Loyalists, 228-9. 234, see Tories 
Loyal states, 378 
Luisa, 8 

Lumber, 168, 183, 357 
Lutherans, 175 
Luther vs. Borden, n 350. n 351 

Martin, 350, n 351 
Luxury, 177 
Lyman Daniel, n 298 



Lyndon, Josias, 213 

Lynn, 89 

Lyon, ship, 15 

Macau lay, Catherine, n 224 

Machine for dredging harbor, 274 

gun battery, u 389 
Machinery, 325, 357, 369, 388 
hall, Philadelphia, 383 
MacSparran, Doctor, 182, 196 
Madeira, Island of, 5, 169 
Madison. Pres. .lames. 261, 291, 293-4, 296-7 
.Magazine, literary. 259 

powder, 113 
Magistrate, Chief, 302 
Magistrates. 68. 231 ; house of, 284 
Magna charter, 84 

Maidstone, affair of the, 1765, 216 ; 599-600 
Majority vote required to elect, 386 
Major Generals, revolutionary, 230 
Maine, 138, 185, 351 
Mainland towns deserted by Newport In 

King Philip's war, 126-8 
Malbone. Francis, 282, 283, 285, 293 
Godfrey, 558 

Godfrey and John, granted flag of 
truce, 584 
Male citizens given privilege of voting, 345 
Malefactors, 163 

Malmedy. Gen. Francois Le Marquis de. 452 
Man. John, 402 
Mann. Capt. Aaron, 503 

Manning, Pres. of Brown University, n 259 
Mansion House, u 278 
Manton, n 298 
Mauton's Neck, 23 
Manufactories, 303 

Manufacture of liquors prohibited. 384 
Manufactures, Indian, 12, 13 ; colonial, 165, 

168, 175, 182-4, 214, n 221, 244 : British, 

216 : home, 219 ; domestic, 252, 272-3, 

388 
Manufacturers, 226. 303, 359, 361 ; cotton, 

asks for more protection, 299 
Manufacturing, 183, 319, 336, 377, 392; 

establishments. 361-2 : towns, 386 
Manuscript records of Newport. 246 
Map of Providence, by Daniel Anthony, 310 
Marblehead Neck, 21 
Marble Palace, 392 
Marchant, Henry, n 223, n 224, 238, 257, 

269, 408 
Marital rights, 334 
Markets. 183, 258 : home, 152 
Market Square, Providence, tea burned in, 

226: 352 
Markland, 3 
Maritime colony, 168 

Marine Corps of Artillery. Providence, 526 
Marriage law, 282, 366 
Marriages. 354. 357 ' 
Married women, 334 



652 



Index. 



Martial affairs, 14S ; court, 306-7 ; law, 105, 

345, n 351 ; music, 377 
Martin. Lieut. -Gov. Simeon, 293-4 

Wheeler, 311 
Martinique, 205 

Martyr, Dorr as a national, 352 
Maryland, n 261, 265 
Masham. Sir William, n 76 
Mashapauge, Indian town of, 30 
Massachusetts, 11, 26, 2S, 30, 32, 35, 39, 
44-5, 53-4, 56, 61-2 ; claims jurisdiction 
over Warwick, 64, 65 ; sends an armed 
force to arrest Gorton and his associates 
and take possession of the territory, 66 ; 
tries and sentences Gorton and his asso- 
ciates, 67-8 ; sets them at liberty but 
forbids them to return to Shawomet, 69 ; 
territory of Warwick would have fallen 
into her hands but for Gorton, 70 ; or- 
dered by the English authorities to 
allow Gorton and his associates to 
live unmolested at Warwick, 71 ; 
74-8 ; claims jurisdiction over Providence 
Plantations, 79-81 ; aggressions of, 82, 86, 
88-9 ; n 93, n 94, 95-9, 100, 102, 107, 111, 
125, n 129, 130-6, 138, 141, 143 ; erected 
into a royal province, 147, 148 ; boundary 
line, 149 ; 130, 153, 164, 166. 170-1, 179, 
182. 185, 191, n 192, 203, 219, 220. 222, 
234-6. 242, 253, 258, 265, 272, 298, 316, 
347, 349, 350, 357, 376, 380, 385, 387 
authorities, 20, 56 

Bay, 10, 22, 174 ; colony. 15, 16, 24, 
26. 29. 38, 56, 189, 103 ; govern- 
ment, 37 ; province, 182 
clergy, 89, 157 
colonists, 103 
court, 74 
governor, 162 
Indians, 10 
line, 172 
men, 140 
puritans, 107 

aspersions of against R. I.. 1745, 566 
troops sent from to lihode Island. 
1778, 490 
Massasoit, 19, 123 
Masonic bodies. 324 

ceremonies at laying of corner stone 

of new State House, 392 
charters revoked, 325 
lodges, 327, 329 
order, 277 
Masonry, Free. 322, 340 
Masons, Grand Lodge of the Ancient Free 
and Accepted of the State of Rhode 
Island and Providence Plantations, 374 
Mason. James B.. 295-7, 299, n 303, 513 
Major, n 37 

Lieutenant-Governor John, 120 
Stephen G., 367 



Mason, Stephen N., 371 

Massacres, Indian, 95, 124, 126 

Mather. Cotton, 175 

Mathewson, Elisha, 294, 324-5 

Mauhapog. 114 

Maushapog, n 31 

Maverick, Mr. Samuel, 109 

Mawney, John, 462 

Mayflower, landing of the, 15 

Mayor of Providence, 321, 326, 354, 363-4 

May session, 364 

McCarty. Col. Justus I., 517 

McKinley, President, 389 

Meade, Camp, 389 

Mechanics. 215. 256, 262, 336 ; lien law,. 

325, 370 

and Manufacturers, society of, 278 
Medicinal purposes, 355 
Medicines. 379 
Medusa. French frigate, 284 
Meeting house, at Portsmouth, 46, 51 ; First 

Baptist, 265 
mass, 350 
"People's," 350 
Meetings, political, 341 ; town, 114, 116, 

144, n 233, 264, 267, 281, 285-6, 293, 306- 

7, 316. 318, 321, 337-8. 385 
Memorials to be taxed, 352, 357 
Memorialists. Democratic, 348 
•"Memorandum" Deed, 113 
Mendon. n 129. 171 
Men. enlisted, 379 
Menhaden. 388 

Merchandise, 155, 156 ; contraband, 159 
Mercantile class. 252 
Merchantmen, 291 
Merchants. 152. 179. 180, 182-3, 188, 206-7, 

n 213. 215, 221-2, 228, 246, 252-4, 256, 

262, 280, 285-6, 291 
Mercury, Newport, 289 
Merrimac river, 15 
Message of President Jefferson, 288 
Messer. Dr. Asa, 318 
Metcalf. Col. Edwin, 520 
Methodist clergymen, 282 
Metropolis of colony, Newport, 392 
Mews. Williams, 154 
Mexicans. 353 
Mexico. 350. 355, 357 
Miantonomi. 19. 29. 31, n 35, 45, 64 ; con- 

denmed to death by Massachusetts minis- 
ters, 77 ; death of. 78 ; 113 
Microcosm, Providence, 314 
Middleman's profit, 215 

Middletown. R. I., 178, n 192, 234, 327, 375 
disembarkation of British troops in, 

1776, 470 
Pa., 389 
Militia, n 126. 149. 161. 164. 198, 226, 231, 

n 235. 277, 294. 298. 301-4, 307, 333, 342, 

347, 350, 357, 366, 376; law, 113, n 127; 



Index. 



653 



efficient establishment of, 398 ; interest in 
after tlie revolution, 510 ; call for equip- 
ment, 1812, 511 ; money for support of in 
Civil War, 516 ; disorganized 1831. 526 ; 
public lavi^s for improvement of, 527 ; law 
of 1875, 527 ; present conditions, 528 
Military, 131, 146, 148, 192, 225, 227, 234, 
236, 241, 278, 285. 287, 302, 311, 320-l! 
338, 341-4, 347, 354, 380, 389, 390, 392 
activity, causes of early. 397 ; 1706, 

546 
affairs, 230, 244 ; details of and law 

regulating. 1640, 296 
aid, 165 

assemblies, popularity of, 400 
chartered companies of, 527 
chieftain, .\udrew Jackson, the. 316 
companies, 225, 231, 347, 377 ; of 

olden times, 526 
company chartered. 1741-2, 426 
defence recommended by royal com- 
missioners, 112 
force, need of early, 395 ; first organ- 
ized for defense after union of the 
four towns. 398 ; ordered disband- 
ed, 1760, 440 
officers, new mode of election. 1741. 

426 
operations, 167, 198 
order, 422; of 1643, 397 
plans, 1758, 582-3 

preparations, in colonial times, 131, 
198 ; previous to the revolution, 
232, 604 
service, 378 

situation, 1775, 604 : alarming out- 
look of, 1777, 613 
spirit, stimulated in New England, 

555 
stores, 168, 198 
strength, 215 
system, 84 
Miller, Augustus S., n 387 
Mill, old, at Newport, traditions and con- 
troversy in regard to, 4, 5 
Mill, original cotton, at Pawtucket. 302 
Milton, John, n 92 
Minerals, 7, 329 
Mining, 329 

Ministers, of Boston, advise execution of 
Miantonomo, 77, 78 ; Rhode Island, preach 
war sermons, 198-9 ; 268-9 
Minors, 354 
Minute men, 231 
Misquamicuck, 100 
Misquamicuk, 105 
Mississippi river, 205 
Missouri, 304 
Missouri river, 205 
Mob. 216, 229, 284. 320-1. 342 
Mohammedan, 175 



Mohegans, 10, 37. 77 
Molasses, 168-9, 279 ; act, 183-4 ; 215-6 
Monarchists, 301 
Monarchy, Coddington, 94 
Money, 132, 167, 193-4, 198, 206, 216, 220. 
241, 247, 249, 251, 253, 280, 299, 334^ 
347, 350, 375. 377-8. 388 

changed by act of assembly from 
pounds, shillings and pence to dol- 
lars and cents, 284 
colonial paper, 167, 170, 174, 178-9. 

180-3, 187-9, 190, 193-6 
continental paper, 241, 242 ; depre- 
ciation of, 243, 249, 253 
craze, 253 
state paper, 253, 254, 256, 257, 258, 

259, 260, 261, 263 
Indian, 13 

revolutionary paper, n 238 
.Monk, (ieueral George, u 104 
Monopoly, 308 

.Monroe. I'resident. 302. 304, 314 
Montauk Indians. 11 
Montauk I'oint, 9 
Monticello, Sage of, 314 
.Montreal, 205; surrender of 1760. 440 
Mortgagees, 99 
.Mortgages. 169, 189, 254 
-Morton. 60 

Marcus, Gov., 350 
Moss, Jesse L., 353 
Mother country, 215, 233 
Mottoes, 337, 338 

Mount Hope. 10. 12S ; awarded to I'ly- 
mouth, 130 

Hope Bay, 4, n 272 
Mooshassuck river, 24. 29, 30. 140 
Mowry. Mr., 340 
Mud machine, 274 

Mumford, Paul, chief justice, 257 ; lieuten- 
ant-governor, death of, 291 
Municipalities, 337, 346, 352-3, 357. 360-1. 

366 
Munitions of war. 185. 376 ; sold, 425 
Murder of .\masa Sprague. 347 
!Musie. 278, 377 
Musicians. 278 
Muskets, 343 
Muster, annlial. 366 
Jlystic river. 98 
Nahicans, 9 

Nails, manufacture of, 168 
Namquit Point, 222 
Nauheggansuck, 29 
Nantes, edict of, 150 
Napoleon Bonaparte, 297 
Narragansett Bay, 4, 8. 9. 23. 29. 35. 45, 64, 
77. 98. 105. 110. 111. 119. 132. 149, 160, 
172. 190-1, 202. 220, 222. 234-5, 238, 240 ; 
frozen over 1779-80. 246; 277. 309. 385, 
392 



654 



Index. 



Narragansett country, 23, 3.5, 86, 90 ; dis- 
putes concerning possession of, 
97-9, 100-2 ; dispute with Connecti- 
cut as to its ownership, 107, 108. 
109 ; decided in favor of Rhode 
Island by royal commissioners, 110 ; 
115 ; revival of Connecticut's claim. 
119, 120. 121, 122 : the scene of 
the Swamp Fight, 126 : claimed by 
Connecticut by right of conquest, 
128 ; houses in burned by Indians 
during King Philip's war, n 128 ; 
130 ; renewed controversy between 
Rhode Island and Connecticutt as 
to its possession, 131 ; decided by 
the King in favor of Rhode Island, 
132 ; Rhode Island warns Con- 
necticut not to exercise jurisdic- 
tion in, 133 ; proprietors ask to be 
separated from Rhode Island or 
erected into an independent prov- 
ince, 134 ; royal commission ap- 
pointed to consider question, 134, 
decides in favor of Connecticut, 
135, 136 ; included in New Eng- 
land province, 138. 139, 140 ; 144, 
n 145 ; tranquil under Andros's ad- 
ministration, 149, 150 : boundary 
dispute with Connecticut revived, 
151-2, 156, 159 ; submits to author- 
ity of Dudley, 161-2 ; Connecticut 
renews claim to part of territory, 
171, 172, 173 ; decided in favor of 
Rhode Island, 174 ; population of, 
177 ; 196 ; home of an aristocratic 
population, 202 
Narragansett, district of, formed, 386 

Indians, manners, customs, religion, 
political institutions. 8-14 ; 36-7, 
70, 75, 124, 126 ; attacks upon un- 
just, 129 ; general assembly regu- 
lates affairs of, 280 ; 281 ; 
degradation of, 324 ; tribal rela- 
tions abolished, 385 ; war declared 
against, 1675, 406 ; rally of after 
the swamp fight, 410 

journey to, by Sewall, 185 

lands, purchased by Gorton, 70 ; 98, 
141 

land owners oppose the revived gov- 
ernment of Rhode Island, 147 

patent, n 81 

proprietors, 152 

region, 9 

river, n G7, 98. 101, 106, 120, 190 

sachems, 77, 99, 100 

settlers, 166 
Narragansetites, 210 
Narrogancett bay and river, 100, 101 
"Nassau Bay," 9 
Nathattow, 9 



Nation, its preservation, 376 
National assembly of France, 279 
constitution, 265-9, 271, 273 
republicans, 317-19, 320, 322-7 
Native born citizens, 380-1, 383-4, 386 

voters, 359 
Naturalization laws, 380 
Naturalized citizens, 359. 364-5, 380-1, 383,- 
386-7 

voters required to have a residence 
of 21 years, 366 
Nautilus, British sloop of war, 283 
Naval actions, 216, 220 

affairs, 230 ; in connection with the 

Spanish war, 625-7 
battalion for the state, 1898, 625 
battalion of the R. I. militia, 626 
engagement on Lake Champlain, 

1814, 623 ; on Lake Erie, 620-2 
matters. Earl of Bellomont in, 540 
militia, four companies authorized, 

1898, 626 
office, establishment of at Newport, 

1682, 536 
officers, 184, 216, 274-5 ; ; appoint- 
ment of, 1775* 606 
operations, 153 ; 1744-5, 561 ; in bat- 
tle of Rhode Island, 492-4 ; on the- 
lakes, 1812, 617-18 ; on Lake On- 
tario, 1813-14, 623 
power, 215 

reserves, order for mustering in, ar- 
tillery and torpedo companies au- 
thorized, 626 
vessels, 291 
Navigation, 385 ; favorite pursuit of Rhode 
Island youth, 168 

acts, 136, 138, 152, 159, 163. 215, 
218, 274 
Navy, 229, 383, 385 ; American, its incep- 
tion, 230 ; flogging in, 357 ; men for the, 
379 

neglect of after the revolution, 61T 
pressing demand for, 1861, 623 
unfortunate conditions surrounding, 
1776, 612 
Nayatt Point, breastworks on, 1776, 454 
Neat cattle, 372 
Nebraska bill, Kansas-, 364 
Negroes, 91. 176, 280, 338 
Neotaconkonitt, great hill of, 30 
Neutrality. 284 
New Age, newspaper, 336, 337 
New Amsterdam, 109 

New England, 3. 5, 16, 19, 24, 36, 40, 54, 
56, 71, 73, 78, 87, 96. 103, 106, 109, 112, 
116. 123, 127-8, 130, 138, 140, 142-3, 
146-7, 155, 173, 177, 183, 186-7, 189, 
192, 199, 229, 234, 236, 240, 276, 295, 
305, 320, 328, 354, 356 



Index. 



655 



New England aborigines, their manners and 
customs, 6-7, 11-3 

agent. 92 

colonies, 60, 136, 145, 147 

colonists, 152 

council of, 15 

dominion of, 146 

Firebrand Quenched, 117 

tribes, 10 

volunteers. 184 
New Foundland, failure of expedition to 
. 612 

France, 205 

Hampshire, 134, 136, 148, 153, 173, 
189, 235, 253, 265, 277, 298, 345, 
350-1 ; troops sent from to Rhode 
Island, 1778, 490 

Haven, 74, 177 

Jersey, 191, 235, 265 

London, 120 
Newport, 4, settlement of, 48 ; organiza- 
tion of island government, 49 : 50 ; well 
organized as a government, 51 ; church 
established and religious liberty main- 
tained, 53 : courts established, 54 : 55 : 
well ordered government at, 56 ; public 
school established, n 56 ; policy conserv- 
ative at, 57 ; 59, 73 ; a faction favors 
union with Massachusetts, 78, 82 ; 79, 83, 
86, 88-9, 90 ; people of opposed to Cod- 
dington, 91 ; 94, 96-7, 100, 104-6, 116-17, 
121, 125 : refused to assist mainland 
towns during King I'hilip's war, 126, 
127 ; jealousy and antagonism of to 
Providence, 127; n 128, n 129, 132, 139, 
144-7 ; as an intellectual center through 
the influence of Berkeley, 177-8 ; 180 ; 
manufactures and exports rum, 183-4 : 
185, n 192, 198 ; the leading town in col- 
ony. 199, 201 ; 202-4, 206, 208-9. 211, 
213-14, 217-19, 220-5. 229, 231, 233, 238, 
240 ; occupied by British troops. 234, 
235; evacuated. 244, 246; 247-8, 254, 
257-8, 260, 267. 269, 271, 273-5, 276-7, 
282-6. 288-9, 291, 295, 297, 301-3, 306, 
n 307, 308-9, 311-3, 315, 317, n 319, 
322-3, 325-8, 330-1, 334, n 335, 338, 
346-8, 354 ; city charter submitted to 
people, but rejected, 355 ; again votes 
against city charter, 356 ; 358-9. 360-1 ; 
votes to accept city charter, 363 ; 365. 
369, 371-2, 374, 377, 389, 392 ; train band 
of, 395 ; a place of refuge for early set- 
tlers, 405 ; early defences erected, 423 ; 
artillery company of. 426 ; beacon erect- 
ed in, 426 ; troop of horse raised in. 
1754, 428 ; departure of British fleet 
from, 1775, 444; vote to defend. 1776. 
451 ; north battery at. 452 ; arrival of 
British army in, 1776, 455 ; disembarka- 
tion of British troops at, 1776, 470; 



diary of a citizen of, 1778. 488 ; arms for, 
1813, 511; artillery, 524; court at for 
trial of prizes, 533 ; naval office at, 1682, 
536 ; pirates in, 540 ; sloops sent from to 
Block Island, 1689, 550; arrival at of 
captured pirate crew, 1723, 557; prison- 
ers in, 561 ; two privateers wrecked with- 
in a few liours after leaving the harbor 
of, 567 ; concentration of troops at, 1746, 
569 ; grievance of citizens of, 600 ; Capt. 
Wallace threatens to attack, 604 ; naval 
achievement near. 605-6; withdrawal 
from of British fleet. 1776, 610; evacua- 
tion of 1779, 616; fortifications im- 
proved. 1813-14. 623; attempts to violate 
blockade of 1779, 1813-14, 623 
Newport citizens accept Hopkins plan, 212 
county, 176, 192, n 211, 306, 347 
harbor. 8. 216. 247. 385; transport 
fleet arrived in, 1779, 508 ; scut- 
tling of sloop Liberty in, 603 
jail, 170 
Mercury, 289 
population of. 169 

and I'ortsmouth. "disjointed" from 
Providence, 1653, 534 
New Shoreham. 9 ; 107. n 128. 176-7 
Newspapers, 214, 233, 249, 256-7, 2.59, 266,. 
277, 279, 285, 287, 290-1, 294-6. 300-6, 
313, 316-19, 324, 332. 336. 349, 350-1, 
354. 356, 359. 365, 368-9, 371-^* 
New Plymouth, 137 
New Rochelle. N. Y., 150 
New tenor bills, 188 

New York, 74, 92, 110, 125, 145, 150, 153, 
155, n 156, 184, 191, 218, 224. 
230, 234, 242, n 246, 266, 274, 277, 
279. n 284. 308. 316, 332, 343, 
350, 355, 359 
governor, complaint of against R. 

I., 1702, 163; also 1719, 556 
harbor, discovery of by Verrazano, 6 
New World, 75, 88, 92, 103, 151, 196. 205 
Niantics. 75 
Nichol, John, 600 
Nichols, Col., 136 
Nichols, Jonathan, 568 
Nicholson, Sir Francis, 166 
Nicolls. Colonel Richard, 109. 115 
Nightingale, Samuel, jr., 444 
Niles, Rev. Samuel, 549, 552 
Nine Men's Misery, 410 

Ninth regiment K. I. volunteers, organiza- 
tion of, 519 
Ninigret. King Thomas, 281 
Nipmucks, 11 
Noah, 10 
Non-freemen. 339. 343 

-freeholders, 335, 336 
-importation agreements, 217, 219,. 
221-2 



656 



Index. 



Non-intercourse, 296 

-Protestant, 358, 359 
-resistance, 127 
Norse documents relating to early discov- 
ery of America, 3, 4, 5 
Norsemen, tradition of early colony in New 

England, established by, 3, 4, 5 ; 10 
North America, 196, 225 

Carolina, 4, 266, 268 
Kingstown, 99, 176, n 192, n 211, 
274, 286, 306, n 311, 326, 346, 
354, 356, 367, 375 
Lord, 226 

Main street, 32. n 312 
Providence, 288, 311, n 319, 324, 
326, n 333, 346-7. 358. 360, 363, 
374-5 ; town of divided. 381 ; 
rangers, 225, 441 
Smithfield, 381 
the, 371, 376-7 
Northmen. 4. 5 
Notaquonckanit, n 31, 114 
Notes of hand, 182 
Norwegians, 3 
Nova Anglians, 182 
Nova Scotia, 167, 191 
Noyes Thomas, 288 

Noyes's Neck, breastworks on, 1776. 450 
Nuisances, common, 368 
Nyantics, 11 

Oaths, 95, 138, 155-6, 180, 327, 348 ; of 
allegiance. 112-3, 227-8, 239, 251 ; poor 
debtors. 371 : fac simile of Gen. Nathan- 
ael Greene's to United States. 239, and as 
quartermaster general, 245 ; test, 233-4 ; 
to support National constitution. 271-2 
Ochre Point. 359 
Officers of R. I. regiments in revolutionary 

army, 442-3 
Odd Fellowship, 322 
Ohio river, 198 

Valley, 205 
Old bark, 154 

"Colony," 16 
French war, 190 
Hickory, 325 
Oldham, Capt. John, 36, 107 
Oligarchy, New England, 113 
Olney's lane, 320 
Olney. Thomas, 399 

Col. Stephen, n. 312 
Stephen T., 368 
Thomas, n. 31 
Thomas, jr.. n. 119 
Olneyville, 374 
Oppression. British. 216 
Orange. William Prince of, 145 
Oration by Enos Hitchcock. 265 
Ordnance in state, account of, 1813, 511 
Oswego, capture of by Montcalm. 577 
Rhode Island men at, 580 



Otis James, n. 217 

Owen Daniel, Deputy Governor. 254 

Oxford, Mass.. 150 

Packets, sailing, 283, n 284, 308 ; Hancock, 
277 

Padelford, Seth, 371-2, 380 

Page, Ambrose, 444 
Benjamin, 462 

Paine, Commodore, 550 
George T., n 30 

Paints, taxation of, 219 

Palfrey. Dr., historian, 18. n 103 

Palmer's brigade, 237 

Palo Alto, 353 

Pamphlets, political, 201, 203. 208-9, n 210, 
217, 289, 290. n 296. 300. n 301, n 312, 
315. 318. n 319, n 387, n 380 

Panic, 1857, 368 

Paper money, colonial, first issue of, 167, 
168 ; other issues, 169,170 ; depreciation 
of, 170 ; 174 ; colony fails to redeem, 178 ; 
further issues authorized, 179. 180 ; act 
for issue of passed over governor's veto, 
and controversy that results brings out 
decision from home government that 
governor has no veto power. 179, 180. 
181 ; triumph of paper money party, more 
banks issued. 182, 183 : expenses of Span- 
ish and French war met by further issues 
of. 187 ; amount of issue, and the depre- 
ciation, 188-190 : petition to the king to 
prevent the colony from further issues of, 
193 ; Parliament prohibits issue of by the 
colony witliout king's consent. 194 ; an- 
other "bank" issued before this law goes 
into effect. 195 : bills issued to defray 
expenses of French war, 198. 206 : n 238 ; 
continental, 241. 242 ; depreciation 

of. 243. 249, 253 
state, 253-4, 256-263 
taxation of. 219 

Parable, Ward and Hopkins controversy, 
209 

Parades. 301-2. 329, 337. 350. 359 

Pardon of convicts regulated. 361 

Pardoning power granted governor, with 
advice and consent of senate. 363 

Paris, peace of, 1763, 205 ; treaties of. 1778, 
238 

Park, public, 381 

Parker. Judge, n 103 

Samuel A., 370, 372 

Parliament, British. 74, 89, 91-2. 183. 185, 
187-8, 194-7, 206, 216-9, 220-2, 224. 228, 
252 

High Court of, 81 

Parliamentary charter. 70. 73 : secured by 
Roger Williams, 74 : its scope and pur- 
pose, 75-6; 79-87. 90-4, 98-9, 101, 103, 
106, 172 

commission, 71 
patent, 103 



Index. 



657 



Parties, political, 189, 212, 219, 228-9, 26(5, 
287, 293-4, 299, 300-1, 306, 308-9, Sll-s! 
315, 317-9, 320, 322-332, 341.5, 347-354, 
356, 358-372 
Partridge, Captain, 87-8 

agent of Rliode Island in London, 
181, 183, n 195 
Party virulence. 201, 207 
Passenger boats, 277, 308 
I'assengers, 308, 309 
Passes, free, on railroads, 306 
Pasturage rights in Pawtuxet purchase, 113 
Patent, colonial, 73-4 ; New England, 70-1 : 
of 1644, 70, 103, 106; Rhode Island, 125. 
196 
Path. Pequot, 281 
Patriotism. 221, 375-6, 378-9 
I'atriot, Providence, 304. 313, 316-7 
Patriots. 226, 228, 229, n 231, 235. 240, 

244, 247-8, 315 
Patrols, 298 
Patuckett stream, 113 
Patuxet stream, 113 
Pauchasit, 114 
Paukituck, 210 
Paul. Sergeant, n 238 
I'aupauqunnippog, 114 
Pautuxett river, 30 
I'autuckett, fields of, 30-1 
Pawtucket. n 226. 228. n 272. 302, 358 : 
Mass., 349, becomes Pawtucket. R. 1.. 
1862. 374 ; 377. .380-1 ; becomes a city. 
386, 389 

Palls, 105, 191 
river, 171, 174, 385 
village, 344 
Pawtuckquit, n 31 
I'awtuckqut, 114 
Pawcatuck, 98-9, 108, 120 

river, 75, 99, 100-1, 105-6, 119, 120, 

133, 151, 171-2 

Pawtuxet, n 31, 32, 35, 61, 64, 88. n 93, 

95-6, 114 ; burned by Indians during King 

Philip's war, 126, n 128; 129, 140, 274. 

305 

cove, 373 
dispute, 61-62 
lands, deed of, 113 
men, 62 

purchase, 32; purchasers, 142 
Rangers, 441 

settlers place themselves under juris 
diction of Massachusetts, 35-6 ; 
works at, 1775, 448 
Pay Rolls, 1756-59, 430 
Peace convention, 375 

between Great Britain, Franco and 

Spain, 1763, 592 
news of in Rhode Island, 1815, 514 
of Paris, 205 
public. 341 
42-1 



Peace Prox, 298 

terms of. at close of revolution. 248 
of Utrecht, 168, 425 
Pcage, 45 ; wampum, 13 
Pearce. Dutee J., 313, 315, 317, 319, 323 4, 

328. 330, 338-9 
Peckham. Augustus, 322 
William, 329, 330 
I'eddlcrs. 352 
Pedobaptists. 175 
Peggy, sloop, 283 
Pell, Duncan C, 367 
Peltry, 169 
Penal acts. 258 
Pennsylvania. 154. 265, 389 
Penn, William. :icts as colony agent for 

Rhode Island. 165 
I'enobscot expedition. 505 
I'eople, 227, 386 
People's assembly. 342, 343 
banner, 359 

constitution, 333; framed by con 
vention, 338, and adoi)ted by the 
electors qualified under its pro- 
visions. 339 ; motion in general 
assembly to adopt it. lost. 340 ; 
varying opinions as to its legal- 
ity. 341 ; election held, and gov- 
ernment organized under. 342 : 345, 
348 
convention meets and adopts consti- 
tution, 338-9 ; its action consid- 
ered revolutionary, 341 : declares 
constitution adopted by the people, 
and directs that a government be 
organized, 342 
government, n 351 
legislature. 343 
martyr. Dorr the, 352 
meeting, 356 
party, 344 
Pepperell, Sir William, 1.85, 563, 566 
Pequod ambassadors, 36, 37 
river and country, 98 
Peqnods, 75 
Pequot path, 281 

Indians, 10. 36 7. 78. n 1<)i> 
I'erry, Commodore f)liver Hazard. 618 : 
operations on lakes, 620-1 : promoted and 
presented with sword and medals, 622 
Matthew (^albraith, 623 
Persecution, religious, 96, 97 
Persia, gulf of, 154 
Personal property, 340, 357, 368 
I'ersonal rights. 103 
Pettaquamscutt purchase. 99 
Petitions to the king in regard to paper 
money. 193-5 ; 229. 266 : taxation of peti- 
tions to legislature proposed, 351, 357 
Philadelphia. 244, 251, 261, 264, 289. 383 
Philippines. 389 



658 



Index. 



Philip II.. 28 

King, succeeds his brother Wam- 
sutta as sachem, 1-3 ; plans the 
war, 124 ; confers with Newport 
men — Narragansetts ally them- 
selves with him, 125 ; death, 128, 
'n 129 
Philip's War, King, 116; causes leading to, 
122, 123 ; negotiations and plots, 124 ; 
massacre at Swansea, 124 ; might have 
been averted by arbitration, 12.5 ; the 
swamp fight, 126 ; burning and devasta- 
tion of mainland towns in Rhode Island 
by Indians, 126 ; this result due to refusal 
of assembly to establish garrisons on 
mainland, 127 ; death of Philip and end 
of war, 128, n 129, 130, n 142 
Phillips, Peter, n 211 
Philolethes, 201 
Philosophy of Berkeley, 178 
Phipps. Sir William, appointed royal gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, 148 ; death, 149 
Pieces of eight, 18.5 
Pier at Block Island, 182 
Pierce, Capt. Michael, 411 
Pierce, President. 362 
Pierce's fight with Indians. 410-2 
Pilgrim authorities, 19 
Pilgrims, 16 
Pilots, 229 

Pinckney electors, 293 

Piracy, encouraged by Rhode Islanders, 153, 
154, 155, 156 ; authorities charged with 
complicity in, 160 ; 163 : proclamation 
against, 537 ; letter regarding, to Board 
of trade, 538 ; complaint to the King re- 
garding, 1698. 538-9 ; encouragement of 
by the colonies, 545 
Pirate fleet, attacked by Newport sloops, 

550-01 

Pirates, 153-6 ; harbored in Rhode Island. 

157-9 ; 160. 537 : in Newport. 540 : Rhode 

Island and Connecticut a refuge for, 546 

capture of Block Island by, 1689, 

547-49 
warm reception of in New London, 

1689, 550 
operations of quelled on Block Island, 

552 
capture of in Buzzard's Bay, 552-3 
trial and hanging of in Newport, 

172.3, .557 
trial and execution of, 1758, 558 
Piratical vessels, reappearance of. 557 
Pirce, William A., 366 
I'iscataqua river, 43 
Pitman, Captain, 354 
Judge, 341 
Col. .John T., 519 
Joseph S., 377 



Pitman, Joseph S., 516 

Pitt William, 205, 218 : letter from to 
Gov. Hopkins. 1757. 578 ; letter 
from to the colony. 1760, 589 
Plainfleld, Conn., 311, 353 
Plan to attack British. 1778. 488 

of Union at Albany congress. 201 
Plank roads, 368 

Plantations, 108, 140, 147, 165, 181, 183, 
193 ; committee on foreign, 74 ; north- 
ern, 184 

Providence, 374 
Planters, n 142 
Playwright, 130 
Plimouth, 30 

Plurality vote, 332 ; substituted for major- 
ity vote by amendment to constitution, 
386, 387 
Plymouth. 10, 15, 19, 20, 23-4, 35, 37, 45, 
57-60, 67, 74, 78-80, 82, 87 ; relinquishes 
claim to Shawomet, 89; 98, 109, 110-2, 
123, 125, n 128, n 129, 130, 138, 142, 
147-8, 171, 190 
colony, 16, 18 
council, 190 
Eng., 15 
grant, 191 
New, 137 
patent, 71, 130 
Ppcasset, n 46, 47, 49, n 129 
Pocasset river, 4 

Point, Judith, 247 ; beacon erected on, 426 ; 
watch house at, 427 ; breastworks on. 
1776, 454 
Police company organized to suppress dis- 
turbance during Dorr war, 342 
Political activity of Rhode Island col- 
onists, 94 

affiliations, 276 

annals, Rhode Island, 272 to 392 

conditions, n 296 

conservatism, 57 

contest, 202, 204 

controversies, 199, 203, 209 

corruption, 213, 383 

disabilities, 358 

equality, doctrine of, 336 

fence builder, 276 

freedom, 103, 104 

history, from adoption of constitu 

tion, 272-392 
life, 142 
meetings, 341 

parties, 294, 300-1, 306. 308-9, 311- 
13, 315, 317-19, 320, 322-332, 
341-5, 347-354, 356, 358-372 
prisoner. Dorr as a, 349 
rights, 147 
struggle, 193, 212 
trickery, 201 
turmoil at Providence, 115 



Index. 



650 



Political vitality, 57 
Politicians, 302, 3.59 
Polk. President, 3.50-1, 355 
Pollen, Thomas, 198 
Poll tax, 294, 366, 372. 386 
Polls, 264, 287, 294 
Polygamy, Indian, 13 
Poor debtors, 355 ; oath of, 371 
Poorhouses, 360 

l'op"lation, in 1686, 142 ; 169, 175 ; in 1730. 
176-7: 183, 185, 191-2, 199, 202, 228, 232, 
273, 305, n 307, 309, 313, 315, n 319. 320. 
329, n 335, 338, 30, 351, 358. 360, 374-5, 
380, 388, 392 
Porter, John, n 41 
Portland freestone, 358 

Ports, 253, 274 ; American, 153 ; of deliv- 
ery.- 274 ; of entry, 274 
Portsmouth, 5; settlement of. 46; secession 
of part of inhabitants to form new set- 
tlement at Newport. 47, 48 ; 49, 50-1 ; 
settlers Puritans. 53; 54, 56, 58-9, n 79. 
82-3. 86-7. 90-1, n 93, 98, 104, n 128, 156, 
176-7, 306, 308, 323, n 335, 346 ; first ac- 
tion for protection. 395 ; military order. 
1643, 397 ; watch house in, 425 ; beacon 
erected at, 426 

Grove, 4 ; hospital at. 521 
Portrait painter, 177 

Port Royal, quota for expedition to, 1710. 
423; capture of, 1709, and bills of credit 
for, 554 
Portugal, 293 
Post the, newspaper, 368 
notes, 330 

office established at Providence. 214 
Postage rates, 353 
I'ostmaster of Newport, 258 
Postmaster Richardson, 289, 290 
I'otatoes. 246 
Potomac river, 276 
Potter, Americus V., 362, 364-7 

Elisha R., n 193. 285-6, 288, 292-3, 
296-7, 303, 307-9, 313-4, 317-8, 
323, 325-7; death, 328 
Elisha R., Jr., 342-3, 347, n 351, 

352, 360, 369, 370 
Lieut. James, 473 
Nathan, 363 
Potter, Robert, n 64 
Stephen, 434 
William, 227 
Pounds, shilling and pence, 284 
Poverty, 246, 248, 256 
Powder, 95, 168, 280 ; magazines, 113 
Power, Capt. Nicholas, n 64, 444 
Precedence. 278 
Presbyterians, 175, 177 

Prescott. General, capture of by Major LSar- 
ton, 237, 472-80 



Presidential campaigns. 290. 312. 322, 333, 

349, 350 ; elections. 287, 297, 300, 350, 
362, 366-7. 372; electors, 281, 291, 293. 
316, .323, 356 

Presidency, 323 

President of the R. 1. c'olouy. 83, S6, 95-6, 
106; of congress. 263, 267; of province 
of New England, i;}8-9 ; of the United 
States. 276. 279, 285, 288-9. 292. 298, 
302, 320. 325. 329, 343-i, 376 
Prerogative, 198 
Press, 238 ; newspaper, 310, 349. 372 : print 

ing, 175 ; public. 175. 208. 249 
Prices, 244, 252 
Prime minister. 218 
Prince of Orange, William, 145 
Prince Society, n 138 
I'rinting press, 175 
Prisoners, 240, 279, 352 
Prison. 349, 350, 352 
labor, 354 
at Newport, 54 
ship, 513 
state, 349, 354-5 
Privateering. 153, 185-6. n 305; ob.ieetions 
to, 1653, 533 ; alleged illegal. 1653, 534 ; 
made a felony. 1696, 537 ; matters grow- 
ing out of, 597-9 ; during the revolution, 
617 
Privateers, n 93, 153-4 ; commissions ille- 
gally granted. 159; 160; many sent out 
from Rhode Island, 185, 186; n 206; 
revolutionary, 232; 286, 292. 297; com- 
missions granted to, 1653, 533 

attempt to suppress, 1684, 536 
protection of in Narragansett Bay, 

537 
prize captured by. 1704. 541 
assembly's power to commission, 542 
owners of. appeal to Massachusetts 

and New Hampshire. 1705, 543 
French, pursuit and capture of, 547 
commissions authorized. 1739, 558 
Rhode Island, 560 
fitting out in Rhode Island, 577 
trouble given by. 578 
charges against, 579 
habits of commanders of, 580 
Privy Council. 1.38. 148. 1.52, 173. 174. 181. 

191 
Prizes, naval, 153, 186, 232 
Probate courts. 354 
Processions, 218, 277-8, 311. 337-8. 343, 

350, 352, 359 
Procedure, judicial, 314 
Produce, 256 
Products, 383 

Proclamation by President Washington, 
284; issued in Dorr war, 1842, 515; by 
Gov, Ward, 1741, 559 



660 . 



Index. 



I'rohibition of use of grain for manufacture 
of liquor proposed. i;t)t5-7, 30o ; of liquor 
selling, 307, 330-1, 361, 383-4 

I'rohibitionists, 354 

Prohibitory amendment, 383, 384, 385 
liquor law. 361-2, 366 

Property, 127, 198, 236, 248, 259, 284, 291, 
305, 336, n 390 
electors, 369 
personal, 357 

qualification for suffrage, 189, 380-1 
tax, 144, 294 

I'roprietors of Providence, 32, 113, 116 

Prospect Hill, 231, 444 

I'rotection to home industry, 299, 303, 355 

Protestants, 150, 175 

Providence, founding of, 24, 29 ; deed of the 
territory, 30, 31 ; grand purchase of, 32 ; 
civil compact adopted, 33 ; disposers ap- 
pointed, 34 ; unruly conduct of early in- 
habitants, 33, 34, 35, 36 ; religious dis- 
sensions, 36, 37, 38 ; 45-6, 54 ; political 
dissensions — a turbulent democracy, 55 ; 
causes of these troubles, land hunger 
rather than religious conviction or poli- 
tical differences, 56 ; weakness of gov- 
ernment, 61 ; 62, 66, 73, 77, 79, 81-3, 
86-8 ; and Warwick organize under the 
charter after the usurpation of Codding- 
ton, 90, 91 ; 93-4, n 98, 104, n 105, 113-7 ; 
burned by Indians during King I'hilip's 
war, 126, n 128; 127, 129, 141-2, n 145; 
population, 169; 176, 181, 191, n 192, 
199, 201-6, 211, 213-4, 218-9, 221-7, 229, 
235-8, 241, 254, 256, 260, 262, 265-8, 271, 
273-5, 277 ; toast to town of by Presi- 
dent Washington, 279 ; 280, 282, 284-8, 
291-4 ; growth in population and wealth, 
295; 296-7, 302-3, 305-9, 311-318; grant- 
ed city charter by general assembly, but 
it is rejected by voters, 319 ; freemen ac- 
cept city charter. 320. 321 ; 325-331 ; pro- 
posal to repeal city charter defeated, 332 ; 
333, 335-7, 340, 342-3, 346, 348, 351-2, 
354-9, 360, 362-4, 366-8 ; city charter 
amended, 369 ; 370, 372, 375, 377, 379, 
381, 389, 392 ; train band assembled in, 
1685, 399 ; fortifications of, 1675, 404 ; 
inhabitants of, remove to Newport, 1675, 
405 ; attack upon and burning of, 1676, 
413 ; losses in attack on. 1676. 414 ; vote 
of assembly to establish garrison, 1676, 
415 ; equipment of the garrison at, 1676, 
416 : old account of attack on, 417 ; de- 
struction of old records in, 419 : citizen's 
paper on war, 1757, 434 ; soldiers quar- 
tered in. 436 ; beacon erected at, 1775, 
443 ; fortifications at, 1775. 444 ; firing 
of beacon at. 1775. 446; threatened attack 
on. 1775, 447-8 ; another fort ordered at, 
1775, 448-9; resolutions of citizens on 



landing of the P.ritish on Rhode Island, 
1774, 470 ; activity in to guard against 
British surprise, 177G, 471 ; arrival of 
Geu. Sullivan in, 1778, 489 ; additional 
defense of, 1778, 489 ; military post estab- 
lished at, 1778, 505 ; arms for 1813, 511 ; 
labor on fortifications, 1814, 513 ; arrival 
of cartel ships at, 1814, 513 ; court for 
trial of prizes, 533 ; French and Spanish 
prisoners in, 561 ; determination to resist 
the government, 602 ; old cannon, cor. 
Main and Centre streets, 609 ; fortifica- 
tions improved, 1813-14, 623 
Providence bank, 280 

and Bristol railroad. 358 

county, 189, 192, 202, n 211, 381, 

347 
and Fall River railroad, 353 
Gazette, 208, 217, 222, 226. 249, 259, 
278. 280, 284, n 286, 289, 291, 297 
grenadiers, 441 
harbor, 231 
Herald, 336 
jail, 234 

Light Infantry, 225 
marine hospital, 521 
Ladies' Voluhteer Relief Association. 

379 
Neck, 32 
Patriot, 304 

and Pawtucket turnpike, n 319 
and Plainfield railroad. 353 
Plantations. SO, 84; colony of, 106; 
boundaries of not cleai'ly defined in 
original deeds, 113, 140, 144, 374 
river, 191, 274, 385 
the sloop, 606 
Society for the Abolition of Slavery, 

277 
town council, 278 
and Worcester railroad. 356 
Province, King's, 133-5 

of Massachusetts ; of New England, 
136, 140 ; of New York, 145 ; 
Royal, 137-8, 140 
Provinces, 163-5, 182, 223 
I'rovincials, 187 
Provisional government, 145 
I'rovisions, 169, 206, 229, 231, 241-2. 244. 

246, 258, 284 
"Pros," 306, 314. 315, 316, 319, 327, 332. 

352 ; Union, 303 
"Proxies." 300-1 

Public business, irregularity of, 540 
debt of colony in 1739, 183 
debt, 249, 252-3 
improvements, 307 
laws, 279 
men, 276, 375 

mind, condition of 1757. 435 
peace, 341 



Index. 



661 



riiblic park, 381 

press, 249, 371 

schools, 315, 331, 352, 357, 386 
Pumham, n 35, 64-5, 68, 111 
Pumkinites, 209, 210 

Punishment, corporal, prohibited in asylums 
and poorhouses, 360 

capital, abolished, 361 ; effort to 
have it revived for murder de- 
feated, 368 
Puritans. 18, 24. 28. 39, 40, 44-5, 102-3, 107 
church, 143 

commonwealth, 16, 17, 18 
intolerance, 89 
magistrates, 57, 77 
theocracy, 27 
Quakers, 28, 53 ; find refuge in Rhode 
Island, 90, 97 ; persecuted to the death in 
Massachusetts, 97 : their influence in 
Rhode Island, 115-6, 405 ; public debate 
with Roger Williams, 117 ; 121 ; in control 
of Rhode Island government, 125, 126, 139 ; 
doctrine of non-resistance exemplified in 
action of Newport men, in regard to King 
Philip's War. 127 ; 140, 143 ; their con- 
trol of Rhode Island comes to an end, 
155 ; 157, 162, 167 ; opponents said they 
carried on a mob government, 147, 166; 
175, 177, 204, 289, 325 
(^Uiaker agent of R. I. at English court. 

I'artridge. 183 
(.}uakerites. 210 
(Jualiflcation for suffrage, 335-6, 338-9, 340, 

345 ; at Providence in 1667 
Qualified electors, 339, 347 
Quarrels, local, 113 
Quartering of troops, 244 
Quebec, 205 ; attack upon, 1759, 440, 587 
Queen Anne, 161, 165; death of, 170 
Anne's War, 168 

Esther, the last ruler of the Narra- 
gansetts. 281 
Quidny, Island of, 81 

Quidnesset, 99; breastworks at, 1776, 454 
Quincy, Josiah, n 101 
Quinitikticutt, 30 
Quit rents, 145 
<.»iionset Point, 389 
Quota of troops in ("ivil War. 375. 378. 379 ; 

of Rhode Island soldiers. 1754, 427 
Quo Warranto, Writs of. 139, 145. 156 
Rabble, irresponsible. 336 
R.idical levellers, 359 
Radicals, 317 

Rafn, Carl Christian. 3. 4, 5 
Railroads, 316, 321, 328, 353. 356. 358. 364, 

366, 368-9, 374 
Rails in streets forbidden. 369 
liamsay. Colonel. 354 

Randolph. Edward, 134, 136-9, 153, 155, 
n 156, 160 



Randolph, Mr., 340 

Representative, 343 
Rangers, body of, commissioned, 420-1 

North Providence, 225 
Ranters, 175 

Rape, punishable by death, 290 
Read, some in authority at Newport can- 
not, 166 
Real estate, ownership of as a qualiOcatlon 
for suffrage, 335, 340, 364 ; 354, 370, 368 
depreciated in value by issuance of 
paper money, 256 
Record, Court of, 139 
Recorder, general, 83 

Records, town, of Newport carried off, 
n 246 

town, of Providence, mutilated and 
destroyed by Indians during King 
Philip's war, 419 ; land, trans- 
ferred, 420 
Recruiting, 378. 389 

stations, establishment of, 1703-4, 
422 
Rebels, 376 
Rebellion, Shays, 253, 258; of 1861, 375-7, 

379 
Red P.ank, 248 
Red Sea, 156 
Redwood, Abraham, 568 

library, 178, n 199, n 246 
Referendum. i)racticed under first charter, 

S3; 363 
Reform school, 357 

Redemption of paper money, 179, 195, 206 
Regiments. 185, 234-5, 306, 350, 354, 375, 

377-9, 385 
Registering births, marriages and deaths, 

357 
Registration of voters, 361. 363 
Registry act, 273 
law, 386 
tax. 361. 363, 366. 3?2. 3S0 1. 383. 

386 
of voters, 359 

voters in Providence given privilege 
to vote for mayor, 363 ; dei)rived 
of this privilege. 364 
Rehearings. 372 
Rehoboth, 203 

North Purchase, n 192 
Reid. Captain William, 220, 603 
Relief associations during civil war, ;'.79 
Religion, 54; nalionnl, its imprarlicabilily. 
according to Roger Williams, 76: KM. 
117, 14.'!, 175, 177. 198 9 
Religious debati's, and their importance in 
early colonial period, 117 

dissensions at I'rovidence. 36. .".7 ; 

40-43, 53 
ends, 108 



662 



Index. 



Religious freedom, as taught by Roger Will- 
iams, 21, 24, 2G-7 ; 1)7 
indifference, 38 

liberty, 33, 34, 73, 76, 87, 101-2 ; se- 
cured by charter of 1663, 104 ; 107 
meetings, 307, 366 
persecution, 38, 44, 59, 89, 96-7 
property not to be exempt from tax- 
ation, 317, 325 
sects, 174-5 
sentiment, 175 

toleration, 27, 70, 84, 97, 112-3, 117, 
143, 175 
Remington, Daniel, 329 

Republican form of government in Rhode 
Island, 332, n 390 ; in France, 356 
Herald, 316, 329, 350 
party, 308, 309, 311, 312, 313, 315, 

316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 322, 365 
Rhode Island, 288 
Republicans, 280-296, 298-304. 306, 367 

369, 370-2, 375, 387 8 
Representation, inequality of in general as- 
sembly under the charter, 306. 309, 311, 
335, 337 ; equalized by landholders' con- 
stitution, 339 ; readjusted under consti 
tution, 346 ; new apportionment of, 360 ; 
reapportionment of, 375 
Representative system, supplanted initiative 
and referendum under Parliamentary 
charter, 84 
Representatives. 219. 264 ; in congress. 275. 
281-2, 287, 297, 345 ; in general assem- 
bly, 284, 288, 292, 294, 308-311, 314-5 
Repudiation of debt, 258, 260 
Resaeade la Palma, 353 
Retailers, 330 

Retreat of American army. 1778, 496-7 
Returns of Rhode Island soldiers, 1756, 431 
Revenue, 144, 216, 252, 261, 264, 274 
act, 221, 222 
laws, 216, 220, 269 
school, 357 
state, 351 
surplus, 330 
Revolution, American, 140, 183, 195 ; first 
overt act of, 221 ; 222, 226. 228-9, 238, 
248, 252-3, 273, 278, 282, 295, 312 ; early 
excitement in Providence in regard to, 
443 

Andres, 161 

of 1689 in England, 145 
French, 301 

right of peaceful, as exercised by 
supporters of people's convention, 
339 
Revolutionary events, 236 
government, 103 
war, 167 ; progress of, 234 
Reward for arl-est ot Dorr, 344 
Reynolds, William, n 33 



Reynolds, Joseph, capture of by IJritish, 

1778, 485 
Rhode Island, the territory and its abor- 
iginal inhabitants, 4-15 ; 19, n 36, 37, 39, 
40, 45 ; origin of name, 50-1 ; 54, 57, 59, 
60, 70, 71, 74, 78, 82, 85, 87-8, 91-2, 94- 
105 : colony government organized under 
King Charles charter, 106 ; 107-111 ; col- 
ony receives royal commissioners gladly, 
113 ; 114-6, 121, 124 ; attitude in regard 
to Indians, 125, 126 ; suffers severely in 
King I'hilip's war, 128-9 ; 130-5 ; accusa- 
tions against by Randolph. 137, 138 ; to 
be included in New England province, 
138; 139; consigns her welfare to the 
King. 140 ; her evolution, 140, 141 ; did 
not fear rule of Andros, as it freed her 
from oppressions of her neighbors, 143 ; 
returns answer to Andros that charter is 
at governor's house at Newport, 144 ; 
did not surrender charter to Andros, 145 ; 
forms temporary government after de- 
position of Andros, 146 ; secures confirm- 
ation of charter and organizes govern- 
ment on permanent basfs, 147 ; opposes 
authority of royal governors of Massa- 
chusetts, 148 ; the eastern boundary, 149 ; 
treatment of Huguenots, 150 ; boundary 
dispute with Connecticut revived, 151, 
152 ; authorities accused of encouraging 
piracy and of lawlessness generally, 153, 
154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160; danger 
of the revocation of charter averted, 
160-1 ; opposes Dudley, 162 ; charges 
against the government of, 163. 164 ; Wil- 
liam Penn pleads her cause at the Eng- 
lish court, 165 ; supplies troops for 
colonial wars, 167 ; issues paper money, 
167-9, 170, 179 ; population, 1708, 169 ; 
boundaries settled, 171 ; Connecticut 
boundary dispute revived, 172 ; decided 
in favor of Rhode Island, 174 ; 175 ; 
population in 1730, 176, 177 ; gov- 
ernor not entitled to veto power un- 
der the charter. 181 ; triumph of paper 
money party, 182 ; opposes the molasses 
act, 183 ; repels royal interference with 
her authority of, 184 ; sends out many 
privateers, 185 ; raises troops for the 
Spanish and French wars, 186 ; meets ex- 
penses of wars by further issues of paper 
money, 187, 188 ; property qualification 
raised because of depreciation of paper 
money, 189 ; settlement of eastern bound- 
ary, 190, 191 ; five new towns organized 
out of territory acquired from Massachu- 
setts, 192 ; these accessions completed 
the colony according to the charter, 192 ; 
attempts to issue more paper money, 193 ; 
forbidden by act of Parliament to issue 
bills of credit without king's consent, 



Index. 



663 



194 ; another "bank" issued before this 
law goes into effect, 195 ; sends delegates 
to congress at Albany, 196 ; opposes plan 
of union, 197 ; issues bills of credit and 
raises troops for French war, 198, 204, 
205, 206 ; 199, 208, 213 ; opposes the 
sugar and molasses act, 215, the stamp 
act, 216, 217, and the import duties, 219, 
220 ; revolutionary doings, 222, 223, 225, 
226, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232 ; renounces 
allegiance to Great Britain, 232, 233 ; 
raises troops and prepares for war, 234, 
235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240 ; battle of 
Rhode Island, 241 ; destitution and tinan- 
cial troubles, 242, 243, 244 ; departure of 
the British from the island, 246 ; famine, 
arrival of French tleet, 247 ; her share in 
the revolutionary struggle, 248 ; refuses 
to allow congress to levy import duties, 
249. 250, 251, 252; assembly authorizes 
an issue of paper money, 254 ; resulting 
troubles, depreciation of currency and 
stagnation of business, 250-9, 260 ; refuses 
to send delegates to the Federal conven- 
tion, 261, 262, 263, 264 ; opposes the 
Federal constitution, 265, 266 ; treated 
as a foreign nation by congress, 267 ; 
convention called, 268, 269 ; and federal 
constitution finally adopted, 271, 272 ; 
273, 275-8, 280, 282, 287, 288, 291, 296-8, 
305, 307-8, 312, 314-6, 322,3, 325-6, 329, 
330, 332-3, 338, 345-9, 350-2, 358-9, 361, 
305, 368, 370-1, 374-8, 380, 383, 387-8, 
392 
Rhode Island brigades, list of, 491 
British tyranny in, 457 
colony placed on war basis, 1739, 558 
charges against transmitted to New 

York, 1705, 545 
charges against dispi'oved, 1705, 546 
citizens' property seized, 584 ; be- 
havior of citizens of, 1764, 59 
controversy of with Havana, 509 
defenseless in 1812, 510-11 
defenses, condition of at beginning of 

war of 1812, 512 
forces at beginning of revolution, 441 
Historical Society, 290, 308 
importance of, 1705, 543 
island of, about equal in size to Isle 
of Rhodes, 6; 111, 142, 154, 176; 
beacon on, 1775, 447 
in hands of the British, 1776, 470 
Louisburg expedition, assistance of, 
in, 545-6 ; quota of troops for, 
562 ; sutfferiugs of troops at, 568 
loyalty of, 593 
magistrates, 119 

men contributed to civil war, 523 
military conditions investigated, 
1897-8, 523 



IMiode Island, military expenses of, 572 
military spirit stimulated in, 555 
navy, contribution of lo the, in the 

civil war, 623-25 
privateers, without authority to 
commission, 536 ; operations of, 
1757, 581 
regiment, the, 1756, 430 
Relief Association, 379 
Republican, 288 

sacrifices of, in early years, 567 
seamen, requisition on for, 1759, 585 
a nursery for seamen, 593 
Suffrage Association, 336 
towns, small beginnings of, 73 
troops sent into the field dur- 
ing the civil war, 379 ; rolls 
of 1778, 505-6 ; withdrawn from 
the state, 1812, 510 ; prompt re- 
sponse of to call for in 1861, 515, 
and in 1898, 523 ; request to for In 
1741, 559 ; retained, 565 ; raised, 
1761, 589; disbanded, 1760, 589 
prisoners captured by the French, 

580 
vessels, directed to employ, 578 
war vessels, the first, 533 
Rhode Islanders, 73, 120, 137 ; their char- 
acteristics as seamen, 153 ; 182, 186 
Ricliardson, postmaster, 289, 290 

Stephen, 550 
Richmond, n 192, n 273, 295 

Recorder, 290 
Rickard, George, n 33 
Rider Sidney S., n 29, n 30. n 31. n 38, 

u 176, n 351 
Right to vote, 345 
Rights, 103, 157, 183-4, 203, 326 

of citizens under first charter. 84. 85 
of colonies examined, pamphlet by 

Stephen Hopkins, 217 
political, 147 
Riot, the Olney street. 320. 321 
Riots. 217, 265, 341-2 
River guard appointed, 512 

Machine Co., 274-5 
Rivers, channels of. navigable deepened and 
widened by U. S. government. 385 
Roads, 280, 374 
]{oadmaking, 388 

Robbing. Senator Aslicr. 313 4. 323-5. 330, 
337 

Col. Charles T., 516. 519 
Christopher E., 356 
Robin Hill Fort, 448 
Robinson, Christopher. 326. 37<t, 375 
John, 600 
Sylvester, 367 
Rochambeau, Lieut. General Ic fomie de, 

508 
Rochester. 139, n 144 



GG4 



Index. 



Uocky Point, 372 
Kodman, Col. Isaac P., 517 
Dr. John, 549 
Samuel, 362 
William M., 368 
Roger Williams park, 381 
Uoman Catholics, 175 
Rome, 7, 177 
Rose, Anderson C, 365 

Col. Henry B., 523 
man-of-war, 229 
Royal arch mason, 322 

authority believed in by Samuel Gor- 
ton, 60; 139, 197 
charter, 100-7, 109, 110-2, n 114, 119, 

120-1 ; see charter, King Charles 
commission, arrival of, 109 ; decides 
in favor of Rhode Island in regard 
to Narragausett country, 110 ; re- 
fer boundary dispute between Ply- 
mouth and Rhode Island to King, 
110 
commissioners submit five proposals 
to general assembly of Rhode 
Island, 112 ; which are accepted 
and acted upon, 113 ; departure. 
113, 114; 115, 119, 120, 130, 132, 
142 
council, 103 

governors, 161, 162, 167 
grant, 190 
interests, 155 
proclamation, how received, 1685, 

399 
province, 137-8, 140 
party in Rhode Island, 141, 144, 157 
Roxbury, 16 

Row gallies, order for, 1775, 616 
Ruin, financial, 195 

Rum, 168. 183-4, n 277, 279, 307, 324-5 
Russell, Jonathan, 293, 297 
Russias, autocrat of the, 304 
Rutlege, John, accused of writing forged 

letter; attack on Ellery, 289, 290 
Ryswick, treaty of, n 152 
Sabbatarians, antl-, 175 
Sabbath, 18 
Sacanonoco, 64-5, 68 
Sachems, Indian, 75, 111, 114, 123 
Sachuest I*oint, watch house at, 425 
Sackett, Adnah, 356 
Sacononoco, n 35 

Safety, measures for considered, 405 
Saffery, 171 

Sagas of the Northmen, n 34 
Sage of Monticello, 314 
Sailing packets, 308 

Sailors, 177, 216, 283, 291, 320, 383, 385 
Sakonnet river, 191 

Salaries of members of general assembly, 
362, 372 ; of state officers, 366 



Salem, Mass., settlement of, 15 ; 16-23, 38 

Sale of liquors prohibited, 384 

Salt, 169 

Saltonstall, Capt. Dudley, trial of, 611 

Saltpetre, 230 

Salutes, 316 

Samuel the Squomicutite, 209, 210 

Sands, Capt. John, 549 

Sanford, Ezbon, 306 

John, n 46, 83 

Gov. Peleg, 142, 144, 155-6, 158 

William, 370 
Sanitary arrangements, 388 

commission, the United States, 379 

measures, 369 
Santiago, 184 
Saunders, Isaac, 370 

Tobias, 100 
Savage, Massachusetts historian, 20, 68 

Thos., n 46 
Savannah, 244 
Savannah river, 10 
Say and Seal Patent, Lords, 98 
Sayles, Col. Willard, 522 
Saw mills, 122 
Scandals, 379 

Scituate, n 192, n 319, 326, 346, 360, 368, 
370 

beacon In, 1775, 447 

hills, 202 

hunters, 225, 441 

men from, killed in Pierce's fight, 
412-13 
School age, 319 

committee, 352 

district, 352 

high, established in Providence, 332 

houses, 332 

Indian, 385 

law, 357, 361 

libraries, 333 
Schools, 175, 305, 317, 333 

free, 287-8, 290, 303-4, 312-3, 315-6 

public, established at Newport, n 56 ; 
331, 352, 357, 369, 372 
Schooners, 216, 297 
Scott, Richard, n 33, 38 

General, 362, 376 
Scouting parties, 423 
Scows, used to unload vessels at Providence, 

274 
Scuttling sloop Liberty, 221 
Sea, 153, 168, 196, 205; force In war time, 
the, 531 ; Rhode Islanders were pre- 
eminent on the, 186 
Seal, broad, 106 

colony, 84, 145, 147, 180 
Seamen, 215, 283, 291 

impressing, 284. 298 

power," 291 

robbers, 154 



Index. 



665 



Search, right of exercised, 283 

Secession, 298, 376 

Second regiment militia, 306 

regiment, order to organize, ISGl, 
516 

K. I. cavalry, enlistment and de- 
parture of, 521 

volunteer regiment, departure of, 517 
Secretary of State, 212 

of War, 376 
Secret ballot, 364 

ballot law, 358, 360, 362 
Sectary, 189 
Sects, 177, 281 

religious, 175 
Sedition laws, alien and, 285 
Seekonck, 110 

Seekonk, Mass., 77 ; a portion of it becomes 
East Providence, R. I., in 1862, 374 

river, 23-4, 105, 191, n 272, 374 
Selectmen, 107 

Senate, Rhode Island, 262, 268-9, 276, 287, 
302-3, 308-9, 328 

United States, 275, 285, 289, n 295, 
299, 304, 314, 324-5, 325, 330, 347, 
362 
Senators, Rhode Island, 314-5, 318, 322, 328 

United States, 272, 256-7, 282, 287, 
293-4, 296, 300, 314, 331, 333, 341, 
345, 352-4, 359, 360, 362, 370, 377 
Separate scliools for colored children, 369 
Separatists, 16, 21, 38 
Sequasson, 77 
Sermons, 198, 199 
Session of general assembl.v, 311 : limiled to 

two annually, 363, 364 
Sessions, Deputy Governor Dai'ius, 227, 

n 297 
Settlements, 132, 141-2; frontier. 196 

difficulty of protecting. 405 
Seven years war, 196, 204 
Seventh Day Baptists, 281 

R. I. Volunteers, record of. 519 
Sewall, historian, 185 
Shackles, 226 
Shawmuts, 11 
Shawomet, 65, 68-9; renamed Warwick, 71 ; 

72, 81, 88 
Shays rebellion, 253, 258 
Shearman, Philip, n 45 

Sylvester G., 356 
Sheep, 142, 231, 272 
Sheffield, William P.. n 107. 371. 375 

Capt. Joseph. 422. 426. 559 
Shellfish, 388 

Sherborn, Brig. Gen., n 237 
Sheriffs. 204. 246. 281. 320-1 
Sherwood. Joseph, Uondon agent, 215 
Shipbiiil-ding, 168 
Shipping, 78, 142, 168, 177, 296 



Ships, 246, 252, 278, 290 
British, 241 
of the line, 234, 240 
of war, 222, 247, 287 
Shire town, 176 
Shirley, Governor, 185-7; superseded, 1756, 

431 ; military plans of, 1755, 573 
Shoemaker, 166 

Shops for sale of goods, 256, 258, n 306 
Short time in factories, 369 
Shotten, Samuel, n 64 
Shute, Governor of Massachusetts, 170 
Side walk commissioners, 307 
Siege battery, 230 
Silver, 179, 194, 206 

money, 167; at premium, 169 
Simmons, Senator James E., 322, 333-4. 

352-3, 359, 368 
Simplicities Defence. 62, 63. 70 
Sinking fund, 366 
Sisson. Col. Henry T., 518 
Skelton. 16, 18, 20 
"Slate Rock," 24 
Slave marts, 357 
ships, 277 
trade, 277, 305. 330 
Slaves, to be emancipated after ten years. 
91 ; 177, 305, 330. 3.-)5. 360; fugitive. 365 
Slavery, anti-, movement, 367, 371 
Slavery, 12S. 175, 219, 264. 277, 304-5, 329. 
330; condemned by Rhode Island ir''tii'r;il 
assembly, 355 ; 357 
Slocum, Maj. John S., 516 
Sloflfe, John, n 48 
Sloop, 184, 221; armed, 220; "Bay," 9; 

colony, 185; packet, 222; of war, 2.S3 
Sloops, 142 

for (^anadian expedition, 1709, 553 
Sniibert, portrait painter, 177 
Smithfield, town of, n 192, 204, 306, n 3o7, 
311, n 319, 324, 326. n 335, 337. 340-1, 
358, 363, 367. 370-1, 374-5; divided, 3,S1 
Smith. Assistant, n 121 

Smith, Congressman of Sonlli Cardlin.T. 
277-8 

Henry, 291-292 

James J., 375 ; vindicated by a re- 
port, and by re-election as gover- 
nor, 378; dealh, 378, 379 
John, n 24, 287 
Halph, 18, 58 

Itichard. his trading house In Narra- 
gausett country, !t8. 108, n 126, 
134-5, 407 ; royal commission meets 
at his house. 135 ; n 99, 119. n 127. 
132-3, 141, 144, 407 
Senator, of South Carolina, :!05 
Capt. Simon. 444 
street. 320, 321 ; bridge, 321 
Turpin. 462 



66G 



Index. 



Smith. William H., n 326 

Smitli's Hill, 350, 352 

Smuggling, 153 

Social conditions, 157, 175, 199, 229 

Society of the Cincinnati, 278 

of Mechanics and Manufacturers, 278 

Socinians, 175 

Soil, Indians' paramount right to, recog- 
nized by royal charter, 105 

Soldiers, aggressive of the Massachusetts in 
Warwick, 66, 167, 184-5. 224, 238, 248, 
282. 299, 320, n 328, 347, 355, 383, 385 ; 
order to supply lists of, 422 ; Rhode 
Island's quota of, 1710, 423 ; for expedi- 
tion to Louisburg, 427 ; additional force 
of, raised, 1710, 425 ; for Canadian expe- 
dition, 1711, 425 ; three additional com- 
panies for Crown Point expedition, 1755. 
428-9 ; services of, 1756, 429 ; four addi- 
tional companies of, 429 ; tvpo companies 
raised, 1756. 431 ; regiment enlisted. 1757. 
431 ; act for raising. 1757, 433-4 ; letter 
from the Crown, requesting. 1757. 435 : 
Rhode Island, ordered to Albany. 1759. 
438 ; regiment raised for reduction of 

• Crown Point. 1759, 439 ; regiment ordered 
raised, 1760, 440 ; raised for West India 
operations, 1762, 440 ; return of, 1762, 
440 ; officers of Rhode Island in revolu- 
tion, 442-3 ; number of in Sullivan's army. 
1778. 490 ; Rhode Island quota of. 1812, 
510 

Solicitor General, English. 164 

Songs, electioneering, n 213, n 214 

Sons of Liberty. 226, 228 

Soul Liberty, 39 

Sound, Long Island, 220 

South Main street. Providence, 32 

South Carolina, n 261, 265, 277, 279, 289. 
305 

Southern rebellion, 1861. 623 
states. 276, 376 

Southerntown, 100 

South Kingstown. 172. 176. 211, 230, 269, 
286, 307, 311. 314. 320. 329. 332, 346. 
354 361-2. 367, 386 ; assembly met at. 
1741-2, 426 

South, the, 244, 371 

Sovereignty, 250, 336 

Sowwames, 45 

Spain, 102. 184. 205. 293; war between 
United States and, 389 

Spaniards. 185 

Spanish Main, 185 

War, 185, 186 
West Indies, 184 

Specie, 167, 183, 188, 190. 206, 252-3. 260: 
party, 169 ; payments. 330 

Speeches, 295, 350 
public, 233 

Speculators, 242 



Spencer, Christopher, 347 
General, 236-7 
Gen. John, 488 
Mr., 340 
Spindles, cotton, 361 
Spirits, ardent, 355, 357 
Sprague, A. & W., 347, 377 

Amasa, murder of, 347 
Nathan B., 324 

William, Jr., 322-4 ; speaker of Rhode 
Island house of representatives, 
327-8 ; elected governor, 330-1 ; re- 
signs as United States senator be- 
cause of murder of his brother 
Amasa, 347; 367 
William, elected governor 1860. 
371-2 ; 375-6 ; elected United States 
senator, 377 ; 378-9 ; patriotic ac- 
tion of, 377, 516 
Springfield, 248 

convention, 238 
"Squatter's Sovereignty," 73 
Squomicutite. Samuel, the, 209 
St. Domingo, 282 
St. John and Squirrel, 594-5 

schooner, 216 
St. John's church, 24 
day, 329 

lodge of Masons, 329 
St. Lawrence, Gulf of, 10, 205 

river, 198 
St. Lucie, 283 
Stage plays, 282 

Stamp act, 216. 217 ; congress. 218 ; repeal 
of. 218 ; consequences of. in Rhode Island. 
600 

tax, 216 
Stampers Hill, location of, 404 
Standard of money, 281 
Stanton, Joseph J., 275, 282, 283 
Staples's Annals of Providence, 320 
Staples, Judge, 75, 85 

State, the. 102. 240-1, 258, 272-4, 276, 279, 
282, 284, 287, 296, 298-9, 300-1, 803, 329, 
333. 344. 347. 358, 361, 383, 386, 388 
church, 119 

church and. separation of, 77 ; unit- 
ed, 87 
civil, 101 

constitution, 285, 287, 292, 335, 336, 
337, 338, 339 ; adopted, 345 ; gov- 
ernment organized under, 346 
debts, 276, 277, 353 
election. 288 
history, n 272 
highways, 388 
house commission, 392 
House, Newport, 346 
House, old, at Providence, 278-9, 296, 
n 312, 321, 333, 337-8, 343, 357 ; 
proposal to erect in center of Cove, 



Index. 



66r 



Providence, a combined city and 
state building, 357-8 ; new, pro- 
posed at Providence, 369 ; proposi- 
tion to build new one at Provi- 
dence, 1860, defeated, 372 ; new 
marble edifice begun, 1S'J5, 390-2 
State indebtedness, 288 

legislatures, 264 

loan to, by A. & W. Sprague, 625 
Statesmen, 225 
States, original thirteen, 253 
State ownership of railroads, 321 

Prison, 349, 354-5 

Rhode Island an independent, lO" 

Senators, 315 

tax, 286 

taxation, 284 

treasury, 315 

valuation, 285-6, 311. 357. 366 
States, 235, 238. 249. 251, 253, 260-9, 285, 
348-9, 351, 378, 387 

rights doctrine, 250, 264 

of union, 247, 271 
Statutes, public, 386 
Steamboats. 308, 309, 316 
Steamer, 302 
Steere, Thomas, 363 
Stephen the Choppomiskite, 209, 210 
Sterling money, 188 
Stickney, Charles, n 365 

Stiles. Diary of Dr. Ezra, n 233, 23(!, n 237 
Stiness, Judge, n 74 
Stocks for pimishmeut of criminals, erected 

at Newport, 54 
Stoddard, Gen. Martin, 338 
Stoicism, Indian, 14 
Stokes, H. K., n 170 

Stone tools, utensils and weapons, of the 
Indians, 7, 12 

Tower, Newport, 4 
Stonington agreement as to boundaries, 172 

town of, n 100, 283 
Stoughton. William. 134 ; become governor 

of Massachusetts, 149 
"Study Hill." residence of William Black- 
stone, n 29 
Stores, military, 244 

retail, 240, 256, 295, 297 
Street lights, 307 

railroads, 374 
Streets, 168, 350, 358, 377 
Submission, act of, 70 
Sub-treasury system, 333, 354 
Success, the brigatine, 561 
Suffrage, proposals to extend, 294-5, 303 4, 
341 ; 359 

agitation renewed, 380 

Association. Rhode Island. 336. 340 

constitution, 340 

extended in Providence. 363 

extension of, 326, 385-6 



SiilVr.ige. free, 317 

government, 348 
meeting, 338 
movements, 332 
orator, 336 

party, 338, 340-1, 345 
qualifications for, 380, 381 
question, 349 ; in Rhode Island. In 
vestigated by a congressional com 
mittee, 351 
right of, 3S5-6, 345 
woman's, 381, 383 
Suffragists. 317. 336-7, 339, 340-5 ; radical. 

3.59 
Sugar, 16S, 169, 1S3-4 
act, 184 

and molasses act, 215, 216 . " 
colonies, 183 
Sulliv.an, Gen. John, 237, 240-2, 449 ; arri- 
val of in Providence. 1778. 489; organiza- 
tion of army by. 489 : opens fire on Hrlt- 
ish, 496 ; general order of, 503 
Sullivan's army. i)ut in motion. 494 ; expedi- 
tion against the P.ritish in Rhode Island. 
1778. 491-502 ; Life Guards, abstract of, 
503-4 
Summary process of collecting debts by 

banks abolished, 304 
Sumner, Brooks' assault on. 367 
Sumter, Fort. 376, 377 
Sni)erinteudent of health. Providence. ;:(i9 
Supreme Court. Rhode Island, fust organ 
ized as a separate department of colonial 
government, 1747, 192 ; declares action of 
I'eople's convention unconstitutional. 341 ; 
347, 354, 355, 363-4, 371, n 385-6, 390 
Court of the United States, 278, u 

350, 374 
.ludicial Court, 308, 316-7. 321 
Superior Court, 213, 257-8, 283 
Superstition of Puritans, 44 
Surinam, 169 
Surveyor, 274-5 

Swamp at Mount Hope, scene of King 
Philip's death, 128 

Fight, 125 ; takes place in the Nar- 
ragansett country. 126; number of 
Englishmen killed, 129. 410; colon- 
ial forces in and details of. 4()6-l(t 
Swansea, massacre of settlers by Indians. 

124, 125 
Swanzey, n 129, n 191, n 374 
Sweet. Capt. George, 512 
Capt. Samuel, 451 
Taft. Royal C, S86 
Talbot. Major Silas, n 126. 491 
Tammany Society of Rhode Island. 293-4 
Tariff, 252, 273: cimvrMii ion. :'.1".(: protei-- 

tive, 333, 353-5 
Tars, 291 
Tartar, sloop. 1.S5; capluie of I'reurli vessi'l 



668 



Index, 



by, 1740, 559 ; cruise of the, 1746, 5G7 ; 
captures a Spanish vessel, 572 
Tavern, Abell's, 349 

Taxation, 215-G, 218-9, 222, 238, 242, 280, 
284-5, 287-8, 317, 325, 345 ; without rep- 
resentation, 216 
Taxes, 95, 103, 107, 137. 143, 149, 157, 159, 
163, 183, 189, 206, 216, 218-9, 220, 242-3, 
249, 253, 256, 285, 288, 294, 298, 301, 303, 
308, 317, 335, 340, 357, 361, 366, 372, 376, 
381, 383, 386 ; levied for war, 1754, 427-8 ; 
to pay troops, 1759, protest against, 585 
Taxpayers, 307, 381 
Tax, poll, 366 
rate, 144 
registry, 366, 383 
■ State, 286 
Taylor, General, 353 ; President, 356 
Tea, 219, 222, 224 ; burning of at Provi- 
dence, 226 

party, Boston, 223-4 ; 355 
Teaming, 244 
Telegraph company, 355 
Temperance, 361 
cause, 315 
movement, 315 
party, 364, 365 
Tender, legal, 260 
Ten hour law passed, 362 
Tenor bills, old and new, 188 
Tenth light battery II. I. volunteers, 520 

regiment It. I. volunteers, organiza- 
tion of, 519-20 
Territorial ambitious of Massachusetts, 65 
claims, 79, 119, 272 
disputes as to boundaries settled by 
terms of royal charter, 105, 107-9, 
110-1, 150-1, 252, 272 ^ 

jurisdiction, 108 
Territory of Hhode Island preserved intact, 

140-1 
Texas. 330, 351 
Textiles, 388 
Thanlisgiving day. 295 

public, 218 
Thatcher, Dr. .lame.s. journal of, 5()() 
Theatrical entertainments, 282 
Theocracy, 85, 143; Massachusetts, 40; Pur- 
itan, 16, 17, 18, 27 
Theological controversies, 18, 20, 57, 67, 76, 

117 
Third regiment K. I. cavalry, organization 
of, 522 

regiment U. I. heavy artillery, record 
of, 517 
Thoroughfare Gap, Va., 389 
Throckmorton, John, n 31 
Throne. Knglish. 176, 220 
Throop. Col. William. 511 
Thurston. Benjamin P... 3.''>0-2. 345. 354. 356. 
362, 365 



Thurston, Edward, 553 

Jeremiah, 299 
Ticonderoga, 205 
Tift, Joshua, 408 
Tillinghast, Captain, 284 
Daniel, 579 
George W., 306 
Judge, 257 
Congressman Joseph L., 317, 318, 

330, 332 
Thomas, 286, 288 
Titus, Jonas, 330 

Tiverton, 4, 5, 191-2, 235, 241, n 272. 286, 
304, 346, 360, 366-7, 375 ; troops sta- 
tioned at 1777, 471 ; rendezvous of the 
army, 1778, 490 ; artillery at 1814, 512 
Heights, fort on, 455 
Toasts, 279, 288, 294, 312, 314 
Toleration, religious, 27, 74, 76, 84, 87, 97 ; 
refused to her own subjects by England, 
but granted to Rhode Island colonists by 
charter of 1603. 104, 112-3, 117, 143, 175 
Tolls, 316, 322 ; collection of, 358 
Toll-gates, 316, 353, 358, 368 

houses, 353, 368 
Tompkins, Capt. Charles H., 516 
Tonnage acts, 273 ; dues, 274 ; duties, 273 

of shipping in Rhode Island, 168, 177 
Tonomy Hill, beacon at, 1775, 447 

fort recommended at, 453 
Tools, 357 ; stone, made by Indians, 12 
Totten, Mr., 295 

Tower Ilill, 230 ; watch on, 1775. 444 
fort established on. 1775. 447 
Tower, stone, Newport, 4 
Town boundaries, 168 

clerk, 34, 305, 363 
charters, 72, 82, 88 
councils, 127, 242, n 246, 278, 302, 

325, 333 
and country, 253, 265 
cryer, 226 

government, 72, 113 
house, 285 

meeting, 33, 34, 94, 114, 116, 144, n 
233. 264, 267. 285-6, 293, 300-7, 
310, 318, 321, 337-8 
Towne streete. 32 

Towns, 85, 90, 114-6, 139, 142, 144, 146, 
151, 106, 170, 183, 189, n 192, 198-9. 202, 
200-7, 214, 217-8, 221-3, 225, 231, 233-4. 
240 2. 244, 240-7, 254. 260, 205-7, 271. 
277. 280. 281-2, 285-9, 292, 295. 300-1. 
30.5-0, 309. 311-2, 314, 310-7. 319. 320-1. 
324. 327. 331-2. 330-7, 344. 346-7, 305, 
377, 379 

become cities, 380. 388 

dissension between the original Rhode 

Island, 86 
the four original, 308 
incorporated, 103, 107, 192 



Index. 



669 



Towns, island, 93, 94 
mainland, 126 
northern, 93, 94 
population of, 169 
Townshend, Britisli chancellor of exchequer, 

218; taxation acts of, 223 
Tories, at Newport, n 217, 218; their num- 
ber and strength in Rhode Island, 228-9, 
230-1, 233-4, 236, 246 ; Federalists called 
Tories, 301 
Trade, 102, 142, 159. 165, 168. 17:'.. 1S2-3. 
190, 197, 206, 214-5, 217, 220. 222. n T.n. 
250, 253, 256, 258, 261, 2S5 

acts of, 138, 155. 157, 165 ; 
attempt of Kngland to control colon- 
ial, 183 
board of, British. 159, 168. 176. 181. 

183, 191, n 192 
colonial, 136 

discouraged by paper money, l!t4 
Illegal, 156 
interstate, 252 
laws, 154 

Lords of, 137, 159, 164, 196-7 
and Plantations, Lord (Commissioners 

of, 152 
restrictions, 152, 153 
Traders, 179, 220, 242 ; illegal, 159 
Tradesmen, 168, n 213, 256, 336 
Traditions of discovery of New l*^u;;iaiid by 

Norsemen, 3-5 
Traffic between I'rovidence and New York, 

308 
Train band, officers, clerk, orders and in- 
struction of, 395 ; officers of 1642 and 
1654, 398 ; service, requirements of, 399 
Training days, authority to fix. 307 : scenes 
and importance of — four each year, 399 
military, 113 
Traitors at Newport, 229 
Transportation, 336 
Transports, 167. 186. 234, 244, 247 
Travel, 308 ; ways of, 168 
Treachery of the Indians, 124 

in early histoi-y, of Rhode Island, 141 
Treason, 344, 349. 350. 360 : to accept office 
under People's constitution, 341-2 ; 
against state. 348 

act of 1842, 352 
convicts, 352 
high, 95, 348 
Treasurer, colony, 83; general. 166. 1S2. 

189, 286, 307, 316 
Treasury, colony. 1S3. 188 : national. 274 : 

state, 241-3. 247. 275. 315 
Treat. Major Robert, 406 
Treating, Governor James Fenner al)stains 
from, in deference to temperance senti- 
ment, 315 
Treaties, 238, 240. 248, 263, 266 ; with In- 
dies, 125 



Treaty of Aixla-Chapelle, 187. 193, 196 
Jay, 285 

of Ryswick, n 152 
Trees, varieties of in the territory of IJhode 
Island. 6 ; area covered by at present. 273 
Trespass against the person, n 351 
Trevett. John, 257 

-Weeden case, 257 
Trial of Dorr unfair. 348. 349 

by jury, 256-7 
Trials. 223. 372 
Tribal lands, 324 

Tribes. Indians. 10-15. 123-4, 280. 3S5 
Tribute, King Philip pays, 123 
Trimming, William, 547-8, 550 
Trinity church, Newport, n 166 
Truant children, 366 

Troops, 148, 185, 187, 198, 204-5. 21.".. 22<;. 
2:{(), n 231, 232, 234-5, 238, 240-1. 243-4. 
246 8. 252. 298, 301-2, 344, 375-9, 389 
Ti-opwcn. 209 
Trover. 371 
T. R., 209 
Tumult, 342 
Turner, Dr., 88 

George, 348 
Thomas G., 367, 370 
Turnpikes, u 319. 368; association. 316; 

roads, 358 
Twelfth regiment K. I. volunteers, mustered 

in, 520 
Twenty mile line. 113, 144 
Tyler, President John, 343, 375 
Tyranny, resistance to, 220 
I'ncas, 77 

IlnconstKutional laws. 298 
rnd(M-liill. Captain. 2.'? 
Union conservatives, 372 
I'rox.. 303. 306 
the Federal. 261. 272 4. 279. 298. 

388, n. 390 
movement. 371 
ticket. 372 

of states. 247. 253. 260. 271 
to be preserved, 377 
of American colonies proposed at 
Albany congress. 196-8. 201 ; 223. 
225 249. 252 
of the Rhode Island colonies. 94 
I'nlted Colonies of New Kngland. 74. 77. S7. 
SO, 97 : decides to attack Indians in their 
winter quarters. 125 ; King Philip's war 
prosecuted by them safely. 129 
United States. 5. 23:^. 235. 242. 243. 251. 
256. 262. 266. 279. 281-5. 287. 299. 348, 
n. 351. 374. 376. 377, 379. 380. .383. 385, 
389 

bank, 326. 327. 333 
District Court. 341. 345 
Sanitary Commission. 379 



670 



Index. 



I'uited States Supreme Court, 277 

Senate, 289. 292, n. 295. 304, 31.3, 

324, 32.5, 328, 330, 347, 362, 370 
Senators from Rhode Island, 27.5, 
293. 314. 331. 333. 341. 352-4. 359, 
360. 362. 377 
United train of artillerj'. Providence. 526 
TTpdike. Daniel, n 269 
Capt. John, 444 
Stephen, 575 

Wilkins, n 269, 317, 324, 354 
Usher, John, n. 145 
Utensils, stone, 12 
Utrecht, peace of 1713, 168, 425 
Vaccination, free, 333 
Valuation, state, 285, 286, 311, 357, 366 

of Providence, 295 
Valley Falls, 324 
Value, standard of, 281 

Vane, Sir Henry (Harry), 39, 40-2, n. 45; 

admonition to the Providence democracy, 

55 : 71, 73, n 74, 90, 92 : writes to Rhode 

Island colonists, 94 

Van Buren, President, 329. 333. 350. 356 

Van Zandt. Charles C, 367, 371, 372, 374, 

381, 383 
Varnum, Gen. James M., 238, 249, 250, 257, 

262 : march of to Tiverton, 1778, 490 
Vaughan. Daniel, 451 
Vegetables. 305 
Verin. Joshua, n. 24, 37, 38 
Vermont, 273, 287, 298 
Vernon, Admiral, 184 
Verrazano, narrative of first voyage to 

America, 5-9 
Vessels, sailing, 142, 153-4, 156, 167, 168, 
185 ; lost during French war, 206, 215, 
216, 220-2, 230-2. 240, 242, 249, 260. 
274. 284. 286. 291, 305, 370 
Veterans, naturalized, 380 

of revolution, 312 
Veto, right of, crown to have, in province 
of Massachusetts, 147 ; exercised by 
colonial governor of Rhode Island, 179 ; 
but denied by law officers of crown. 
180-1 ; proposed to give the governor of 
state, the, 309 
Viall, Col. Nelson, 522 
Vice, 324 
Vice admiral. 161, 162 

admiralty, 164, 184. 217 
consul. I'.ritish, 284 
Victories in the revolutionary war, 237 ; in 

Mexican war, 353 
Vigilant, the ship, securing seamen for, 
1744, 561 

the revenue cutter, capture of the 
Dart by, 1813, 623 
Villages, 128, 229, 273, 309, 324, 335, 344, 

n. 374 
Vinal, William, 198 
Vineyard Sound, 185 



Vinland, 4 

Virginia Company. 15 

Virginia. 166. 196, 223. 248. 251, 261, 266, 

285, 389 ; house of Burgesses, 225 
Voluntary trainings, consequences of. 400 
Volunteers. 167. 198. 240, 320, 354, 377, 
379. 389 : vote to raise, 1703-4, 422 ; de- 
parture of, 1861, 516 
Voters, qualifications of, 114 ; legal, of 
Providence, 116 ; naturalized, 366 ; 287, 
295, 309, 319, 331, 336, 338, 339, 346, 
359, 363, 364, 386 
Votes, 264, 276, 282, 291, 292, 294, 304, 
323, 327, 328, 333, 335, 340, 348, 349, 
351 
Voting, right of, 233 ; 345 ; districts, 347 
Wager, Sir Charles, n 191 
W'ages, 283 
Wagons, market, 305 
Walcott, Capt. Henry, 524 

Hon. Roger, 566 
Walker, John, n 45 

Wallace, Capt. James, 229, 231, 444, 604 
Wall, Major Daniel, 437 
Waltham, Mass., 356 
Wampanoags, Indians. 10. 11, 23, 123 
Wampum-peage, 13, 99 
Wamsutta, death of, 123 
Wanasquatucket River, 30 
Want, Captain, 154 
Wanton family, 182 

George, 558, 568 

Gideon, general treasurer, 182 ; 209, 
211 ; governor, letter from to Ad- 
miral Warren, 1745, 563-4 
John, deputy governor, 179, 181 ; 
governor, 182, 188 ; captures 
French privateer, 547 
Gov. Joseph, n 211, 221 ; opposes the 
raising of colony troops, 227 ; is 
deposed as governor, 228 
Joseph, .ir., 434 
Gov. William, 182, 553 
Wantons, the, 199 
Wapenochs, Indians, 9 

Ward and Hopkins controversy, outbreak of, 
193, 199, 203, 204, 206, 207, 208. 209, 
210, 211, 212 ; end of, 213, 214 
clerks, 363 
meetings, 385 
Henry, n 223 
Gov. Richard, opinion of paper 

money, 170, 182, 188, 557 
Samuel, n 202 ; replies to Hopkins' 
pamphlet, and thus begins conti'O- 
versy, 203 ; elected governor, 204, 
208 ; 209 ; proposes a method of 
settlement, 210 ; elected governor 
for two terms, but is then defeat- 
ed by Hopkins, 211 ; accepts plan 
of settlement proposed by Hopkins, 



J 92 8" 







i){ 














'^ ii ifi 



